9190 
.IV153 
1844 


LIBRARY  OF  PRINCETON 

MAR  2  4  POP"; 

\ 

THEOLOGICAL  SEMINARY 

%> 


\\ 


THE 


WARRANT,  NATURE,  AND  DUTIES 


OF  THE  OFFICE  OF  THE 


RULING  ELDER 


IN   THE 


PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH: 


A  Sermon   Preached  in  Philadelpliia,  May  22,   1843, 


WITH  AN  APPENDIX. 


By  SAIVfllEL  MILLER,  D.D. 

PROFESSOR   IN   THE   T^BpOI-OGICAL   SEMIN^X ^T J'Siyje^ajllJ-V  / 

iw  T II  r  0  .■-'-  y  u  A  -J  ■»-  -^# 


''*n; 


"*  •  «rv  .  •  •  * 


PHILADELPHIA: 

WILLIAM   S.   MARTIEN 
1844. 


Entered  according  to  the  Act  of  Congress,  in  the  year  1844,  hy 
William  S.  Martien,  in  the  office  of  the  Clerk  of  the  District 
Court,  for  the  Eastern  District  of  Pennsylvania. 


P  P  r  rr 


m  V* 


In  the  month  of  March  last,  the  Author  of 
the  following  Discourse  received  a  written 
request  from  Sixty-Jive  of  the  Ruling  Elders, 
connected  with  the  churches  of  Philadelphia, 
that  he  would  deliver  in  that  city,  in  the 
course  of  the  month  of  May  ensuing,  and 
during  the  Sessions  of  the  General  Assembly, 
a  Sermon  on  the  Warranty  Nature,  and  Du- 
ties of  the  office  of  the  Ruling  Elder  in  the 
Presbyterian  Church.  It  was  suggested,  as 
an  argument  in  favour  of  such  a  service,  that 
a  plain  and  abridged  view  of  these  topics 
might  reach  and  impress  some  minds  not 
accustomed  or  disposed  to  peruse  larger 
works. 

This  request  was  communicated  to  him  by 
Doctor  William  Darrach,  and  J.  B.  Mitchell, 
and  A.  Symington,  Esquires,  a  Committee  of 
the  whole  body,  in  terms  which  evinced  a 
degree  of  zeal  for  the  increased  activity,  and 
enlarged  usefulness  of  the  Eldership  of  our 
beloved  Church,  which  could  not  fail  to 
make  a  deep  impression  on  a  mind  imbued 
with  any  sensibility  in  regard  to  this  impor- 
tant subject. 

With  such  a  request,  coming  from  a  body 
of  brethren  so  eminently  worthy  of  Christian 


IV  PREFACE. 

respect  and  affection,  it  was  impossible  for 
the  author  to  refuse  compliance.  Although 
he  had,  more  than  ten  years  before,  published 
a  larger  volume  on  the  same  subject;  and 
although  his  advanced  age,  and  growing  in- 
firmities might,  perhaps,  have  warranted  an 
apology  for  declining  any  new  service;  yet 
he  felt  constrained  not  to  shrink  from  any 
labour,  by  which  any  of  his  brethren  sup- 
posed he  might  do  some  good,  however  small, 
to  the  Church  of  God. 

He,  therefore,  attempted  to  execute  the 
task  solicited  of  him.  The  attempt  was  in- 
dulgently and  kindly  received.  And  the 
brethren  who  requested  that  the  discourse 
might  be  delivered,  soon  united  in  a  request 
communicated  by  the  same  fraternal,  and 
respectful  Committee,  that  a  copy  might  be 
furnished  for  publication.  On  this  second 
request,  it  will  be  perceived,  that  it  has  not 
been  thought  proper  to  put  a  negative.  Small 
and  humble  as  the  effort  is,  may  the  Great 
Head  of  the  Church  render  it  in  some  degree 
useful ! 

Princeton,  August  18,  1843. 


RULING     ELDERS 


IN   THE 


PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH. 

Let  the  Elders  that  rule  well  be  counted  worthy  of  double 
honour,  especially  they  who  labour  in  the  word  and 
doctrine. — 1  Timothy  v.  17. 

In  every  regularly  organized  congregation, 
in  the  apostolic  age,  there  were  three  classes 
of  officers;  the  Bishop  or  Pastor,  who  was 
authorized  to  preach  the  Gospel,  and  to 
administer  sacraments ;  a  bench  of  Elders, 
chosen  by  the  members  of  the  church 
from  among  their  own  number,  to  assist  in 
the  inspection  and  government  of  the  church; 
and  a  body  of  Deacons,  who  were  set  apart 
to  take  care  of  the  poor,  and  to  "serve  tables," 
that  is  the  money-tables  of  the  church. 

The  title  of  Elder  in  the  New  Testament 
economy  was  taken  from  the  ancient  dispen- 
sation. Among  the  descendants  of  Abraham, 
and,  indeed,  among  the  eastern  nations  gene- 
rally, men  considerably  advanced  in  life  were 

1 


2  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

commonly  chosen  to  office,  because  among 
the  aged  were  most  apt  to  be  found  wis- 
dom and  experience.  And  hence,  in  pro- 
cess of  time,  the  term  Elder,  or  Presbyter 
— a  term  of  precisely  the  same  import  in 
another  language — began  to  be  employed  as 
a  title  of  office  generally.  In  every  depart- 
ment of  society,  civil  and  ecclesiastical,  the 
.leading  men  in  authority  were  almost  every- 
where styled  Elders — Elders  of  cities.  Elders 
in  every  department  of  society,  in  which 
government  was  required. 

When  the  synagogues  were  established  in 
Judea,  this  title  was  invariably  applied  to 
one  class  of  their  officers.  The  synagogues 
were  the  parish-churches  of  the  Jews,  before 
the  coming  of  Christ;  and  all  the  first  Chris- 
tians being  Jews,  had  been  accustomed  to 
their  worship  and  order.  The  service  of  the 
Temple  was  ceremonial  in  its  whole  charac- 
ter, and  was  now  drawing  to  a  close ;  but  the 
service  of  the  synagogue  was  throughout 
moral,  adapted  to  all  times  and  places.  In 
every  synagogue  there  was  a  Bishop,  or  pre- 
siding Elder;  a  plurality  of  other  elders  to 
assist  in  government ;  and  another  body  of 
grave,  pious  men  to  superintend  and  disburse 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  3 

the  collections  for  the  poor.  This  form  of 
ecclesiastical  order  was  evidently  transferred 
from  the  synagogue  to  the  Apostolic  Church. 
We  find  the  same  form  of  worship,  the  same 
classes  of  officers,  the  same  ecclesiastical 
titles,  and  the  same  official  functions  in  the 
Church  as  in  the  synagogue.  In  short,  the 
Apostolic  Church  resembled  the  synagogue 
model  in  almost  every  point;  while  it  resem- 
bled the  Temple  service  in  no  one  distinctive 
feature.  The  government  of  each  church 
was  neither  in  the  hands  of  one  man,  as 
among  Prelatists;  nor  in  the  hands  of  the 
whole  body  of  the  communicants,  as  among 
Independents ;  but  in  the  hands  of  the  wisest 
and  most  pious  of  the  communicants  chosen, 
upon  the  representative  principle,  to  preside 
over  the  whole  body. 

The  otiice  of  Bishop  or  Pastor  is  declared 
in  our  form  of  government  to  be  the  highest 
office  in  the  church.  It  is  precisely  the  same 
office  which  the  apostles  and  other  primitive 
ministers  of  the  gospel  bore,  when  considered 
independently  of  the  power  of  inspiration 
and  of  working  miracles,  in  the  possession  of 
which  those  holy  men  had  no  successors. 
Pastors,  in  those  times  of  simple  purity,  were 


4  RULING   ELDERS    IN    THE 

called,  interchangeably,  Bishops  and  Elders. 
Nay,  the  apostles  themselves,  with  all  their 
extraordinary  powers,  did  not  disdain  to  ap- 
ply the  title  of  Elder  to  themselves.  Hence, 
the  Apostle  Peter,  in  the  fifth  chapter  of  his 
first  Epistle,  says,  "The  Elders  which  are 
among  you,  I  exhort,  who  am  also  an 
Elder." 

The  next  class  of  officers  in  the  apostolic 
chm'ch  were  the  Ruling  Elders,  described  in 
our  text.  They  were  called  Elders  as  well 
as  the  Pastors;  but  were  Elders  of  a  differ- 
ent order,  and  were  charged  with  different 
functions.  "  Let  the  Elders  that  rule  well  be 
counted  worthy  of  double  honour,  especially 
they  who  labour  in  the  word  and  doctrine.'' 
The  double  honour  of  which  the  apostle  here 
speaks,  has  been  supposed  by  some  to  refer 
to  temporal  support,  or  salary;  and  it  cannot 
be  denied  that  the  original  word  does  some- 
times bear  this  meaning.  But  it  rather  seems 
in  this  place  to  refer  to  that  respect  or  re- 
verence which  is  due  to  the  office  in  question. 
There  appears  to  be  a  comparison  intended 
between  this  class  of  officers,  and  the  widows 
mentioned  in  a  preceding  verse  in  the  same 
chapter.     "Honour  widows  that  are  widows 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  5 

indeed;"  but  "let  the  Elders  that  rule  well 
be  counted  worthy  of  double  honour;"  that 
is,  let  them  be  counted  worthy  of  greater 
honour  than  widows;  but  especially  such  of 
them  as  are  public  teachers,  who  "labour  in 
the  word  and  doctrine."  These  are  to  be 
counted  worthy  of  higher  honour  still,  and 
to  be  regarded  as  holding  a  more  important 
station  in  the  church  of  God  than  those  who 
assist  in  ruling  only. 

The  questions  which  lie  before  us  for  dis- 
cussion, agreeably  to  the  request  of  those 
who  have  called  me  to  this  exercise,  are  the 
following : — 
^  I.  What  is  our  warrant  for  the  office  of 
Ruhng  Elder? 
^   II.  What  is  the  nature  of  the  office?  and 

III.  What  are   the  duties  of  those  who 
bear  it? 

I.  Our  warrant  for  this  class  of  officers  is 
made  out  from  the  following  considerations; 
viz. 
y  (1.)  There  was  such  a  class  of  officers  in 
the  Jewish  synagogue,  after  which  the  apos- 
tolic church  was  modeled.  I  am  aware,  in- 
deed, that  in  regard  to  the  Elders  of  the  Jew- 
ish synagogue,  a  variety  of  questions  may  be 


6  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

asked  which  we  are  not  able  definitely  to 
answer.  As,  for  example,  whether  there 
was  a  difference  of  order  among  them? 
Whether  some  were  teachers  as  well  as 
rulers,  and  others  rulers  only?  Whether 
there  was  any  diversity  in  their  ordination, 
&c?  With  respect  to  these  questions,  some 
of  the  greatest  masters  of  Jewish  antiquities 
have  long  differed,  and  continue  to  differ  in 
opinion.  But  the  learned  on  this  subject  are 
all  agreed  in  regard  to  one  point,  viz.  that 
in  every  synagogue  there  was  a  bench  of 
Elders,  consisting  of  at  least  three  persons, 
who  were  charged  with  the  whole  inspec- 
tion, government,  and  discipline  of  the  syna- 
gogue; who,  as  a  court  or  bench  of  rulers, 
received,  judged,  censured,  and  excluded 
members,  and,  in  a  word,  performed  every 
judicial  act,  necessary  to  the  regularity,  puri- 
ty, and  welfare  of  the  congregation.  Ac- 
cordingly, we  find  many  passages  in  the  New 
Testament  history  which  evidently  refer  to 
these  Ruling  Elders,  as  belonging  to  the  old 
economy,  and  which  admit,  it  would  appear, 
of  no  other  interpretation  than  that  which 
supposes  their  existence,  and  their  function 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  7 

as  being  those  which  have  been  stated.*  And 
some  of  the  best  authorities  in  regard  to  this 
matter  assure  us  that  a  portion,  at  least,  of 
these  Elders  were  not  preachers;  did  not 
statedly  or  ordinarily  "labour  in  the  word 
and  doctrine,"  but  were,  in  a  great  measure, 
if  not  entirely,  confined  to  ruling.     But, 

(2.)  We  find  such  a  class  of  officers  as  I 
have  described  distinctly  pointed  out  inT^ 
Scripture,  as  actually  existing  in  the  New 
Testament  Church.  We  read,  in  the  history 
of  the  apostolic  church,  that,  by  divine  direc- 
tion, Elders — a  plurality  of  Elders — were-*?^ 
ordained  in  every  church.t  Now  it  is  not  at 
all  credible,  considering  the  scarcity  of  minis- 
ters, and  the  pressing  wants  of  the  great 
harvest  field,  at  that  time,  that  the  apostles 
appointed  a  plurality  of  preachers  in  every 
church.  Even  at  the  present  day,  and  in  the 
most  amply  supplied  parts  of  the  church, 
there  is  commonly  but  one  preacher  in  each 
congregation.  Again,  we  are  told  in  several 
Scriptures,  that  infinite  Wisdom  set  in  the 
Church,  beside  pastors  and  teachers,  helps  ^ 
and  governments;  by  which  expressions  we 

*  See  Mark  v.  22.     Acts  xiii.  15. 

t  Acts  xiv.  23.    Titus  i.  v.    Acts  xx.  17. 


S  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

can  scarcely  fail  to  understand  certain  per- 
sons set  apart  to  aid,  to  "help'^  the  pastors 
in  inspecting  and  governing  the  Church. 
And  in  our  text  there  is  a  still  more  distinct 
and  undoubted  reference  to  such  a  class  of 
officers.  "Let  the  Elders  that  rule  well  be 
counted  worthy  of  double  honour,  especially 
they  who  labour  in  the  word  and  doctrine." 
In  reading  these  words,  how  is  it  possible  to 
doubt  that  the  apostle  speaks  of  two  sorts  of 
Elders — some  who  were  teachers  as  well  as 
rulers;  and  others  who  were  rulers  only? 
And  is  it  not  equally  plain  that  he  means  to 
tell  us,  that,  although  both  sorts  of  Elders 
were  worthy  of  double  honour,  that  is,  of 
higher  honour  than  widows,  yet  that  those 
who  "  laboured  in  the  word  and  doctrine,'^ 
held  a  higher  office,  and  were  worthy  of 
more  honour  than  those  who  ruled  only.* 

The  learned  and  venerable  Dr.  Owen  gives 
his  opinion  of  the  import  of  this  passage  in 
the  most  pointed  language.  "  This  is  a 
text,"  says  he,  "  of  incontrollable  evidence, 
if  it  had  any  thing  to  conflict  withal  but 
prejudice  and  interest.  A  rational  man, 
who  is  unprejudiced,  who  never  heard  of 

*  See  Appendix,  note  A. 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  9 

the  controversy  about  Ruling  Elders,  can 
hardly  avoid  an  apprehension  that  there  are 
two  sorts  of  Elders,  some  who  "labour  in  the 
word  and  doctrine,"  and  some  who  do  not  do 
so.  The  truth  is,  it  was  interest  and  preju- 
dice which  first  caused  some  learned  men  to 
strain  their  wits  to  find  out  evasions  from 
the  evidence  of  this  testimony.  Being  found 
out,  some  others,  of  meaner  abilities,  have 
been  entangled  by  them.  There  are  Elders, 
then,  in  the  Church.  There  are  or  ought  to 
be  in  every  church.  With  these  Elders  the  -^ 
whole  rule  of  the  Church  is  entrusted."* 

(3.)  When  we  turn  from  the  New  Testa- 
ment to  the  early  history  of  the  Church,  we 
still  find  satisfactory  evidence  that  this  class  * 
of  officers  was,  for  many  years,  retained  in 
every  Christian  assembly.  Ignatius,  one  of-^ 
the  earliest  of  the  uninspired  fathers,  repre- 
sents all  the  churches  to  which  he  wrote  let- 
ters, as  having  each,  besides  its  Bishop  or 
Pastor,  a  bench  of  Elders,  whom  he  calls  the 
Sanhedrim  of  the  Church,  and  whom  he  re- 
quires to  be  consulted  in  all  ecclesiastical 
aftairs.     The  same  class  of  officers  is  evi- 

*  True  nature  of  a  Gospel  Church,  chap.  vii.  p.  141, 143. 


10       ,  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

dently  alluded  to,  on  a  variety  of  occasions, 
by  Cyprian,  by  Origen,  and  by  several  other 
fathers  of  the  third  and  fourth  centuries. 
Nor  are  they  merely  alluded  to.  Their  ex- 
istence is  not  only  recognized  with  great' 
distinctness ;  but  the  functions  ascribed  to 
them  are  plainly  those  which  the  Scriptures 
and  our  own  truly  primitive  and  apostolical 
Church  designate  as  theirs.  But  the  testi- 
)(  mony  of  Ambrose,  who  lived  in  the  fourth 
century,  is  so  clear  and  undoubted  as  to 
render  it  worthy  of  being  particularly  cited. 
"The  synagogue,"  says  he,  "and  afterwards 
the  Church,  had  a  class  of  Elders  without 
whose  counsel  nothing  was  done  in  the 
Church ;  which  class,  by  what  negligence  it 
grew  into  disuse  I  know  not,  unless,  per- 
haps, by  the  sloth,  or  rather  by  the  pride  of 
the  teachers,  who  rJone  wished  to  appear 
something."  Here  is  evidently  a  class  of 
Elders  designated  by  Ambrose,  which  had 
in  a  great  measure  ceased  to  exist  in  the 
fourth  century.  But  we  know  that  preach- 
ing Presbyters  or  Elders  had  not  then  ceased 
to  exist,  or  even  become  at  all  diminished  in 
number.  But  as  the  Church  had  then  be- 
come deplorably  corrupt,  and  especially  as 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  11 

discipline  had  become  unpopular,  and  was 
passing  away,  that  class  of  Elders  which 
had  been  especially  charged  with  discipline, 
became  ashamed  of  their  office,  aspired  to 
be  preachers,  and  thus,  gradually,  caused 
that  class  of  officers  to  fall  into  disuse  in  the 
Church.*  • 

What  strikingly  confirms  this  statement  is, 
the  imdoubted  record  found  in  a  number  of 
the  fathers  of  the  first  three  or  four  centuries, 
that  the  Bishop  or  Pastor  of  each  church  was 
the  only  stated  preacher ;  that  the  Elders  of 
his  church  never  preached  unless  he  was 
absent,  or  in  his  presence  at  his  particular 
request.  Surely  the  Elders  of  whom  this 
might  be  said  could  not  have  been  like  the 
teaching  Elders  of  that  time,  'or  of  the  pre- 
sent age,  who  are  known  to  all  to  have  been 
set  apart  for  the  express  purpose  of  preach- 
ing the  Gospel  as  their  stated  employment.     ^ 

(4.)  A  further  consideration,  showing  our 
warrant  for  the  office  of  Ruling  Elder,  is 
found  in  the  example  of  the  Waldenses,  and 
other  witnesses  for  the  truth,  who  almost 
alone  maintained  the  true  Gospel  and  a  pure 

*  See  Appendix,  note  B. 


12  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

church  during  the  dark  ages ;  and  also  in  the 
practice  of  the  leading  Protestant  Reformers, 
when  the  Church  emerged  from  the  darkness 
of  the  Papacy.  These  all,  with  remarkable 
unanimity,  concurred  in  maintaining,  not 
only  the  usefulness  and  importance,  but  also 
the  divine  right  of  the  office  in  question, 
/'constantly  appealing  to  the  word  of  God  for 
its  warrant.  Most  of  these  holy  men  actu- 
ally introduced  Ruling  Elders  into  their 
churches ;  and  even  some  of  those  who  did 
not  do  this,  explicitly  acknowledged  both 
their  importance  and  their  scriptural  autho- 
rity, and  lamented  the  want  of  them,  as  un- 
friendly to  the  exercise  of  wholesome  church 
discipline.  Some  have  said,  indeed,  that 
Calvin  invented  this  class  of  officers.  But 
no  well  informed  person  would  venture  to 
make  such  an  assertion.  For,  beside  that 
they  are  manifestly  described  and  authorized 
in  Scripture,  it  is  well  known  that  they  had 
been  actually  in  use  among  the  Bohemian 
Brethren,  as  well  as  among  other  branches 
of  the  Waldensian  churches,  long  before 
Calvin  was  born ;  and  that  he  appeals  to  the 
word  of  God  as  his  authority  for  introducing 
them  into  Geneva.     Nothing  is  more  certain 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  13 

than  that  that  ilhistrious  reformer  did  not 
consider  himself  as  the  inventor  of  the  office 
in  question ;  but  that  he  refers  it  to  a  divine 
warrant,  and  acknowledges  that  faithful  men 
had  gone  before  him  in  restoring  and  main- 
taining it.* 

(5.)  I  will  only  add,  once  more,  that  we 
may  derive  an  argument  in  favour  of  this 
class  of  officers  from  their  absolute  necessity 
to  the  maintenance  of  scriptural  discipline  /^ 
in  the  Church.  Without  discipline  there  may  f" 
be  a  congregation,  but  there  cannot  be  a 
Church.  Unless  the  professing  family  of 
Christ  be  so  instructed,  regulated  and  govern- 
ed, as  that  evangelical  truth  and  holiness  be 
maintained,  together  with  the  worship  and 
ordinances  which  God  hath  appointed  in  his 
word,  the  great  ends  for  which  the  Church 
was  established  by  her  Divine  Head  will  fail. 
She  is  a  "garden,"  fenced  around;  and  the' 
more  perfect  her  enclosure  and  her  spiritual 
cultivation,  the  better  she  obeys  her  Lord,  and 
the  more  fully  she  answers  the  great  end  of 
her  institution.  In  short,  unless  the  flock  of 
Christ  be  watched  over,  and  the  errors  and 

*  See  Appendix,  note  C. 


14  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

disorders  of  her  members  be  corrected,  and 
her  offences  be  removed,  instead  of  being  a 
blessing,  she  will  be  an  offence  and  a  curse 
to  all  around  her.  But  how  shall  this  dis- 
cipline, so  important  and  vital  to  the  best 
interests  of  Zion,  be  maintained?  Shall  it 
be  conducted  by  the  Pastor  alone  ?  This  is 
physically  impossible.  That  he  should  do 
all  that  is  incumbent  upon  him  in  "  feeding 
the  people  with  knowledge  and  with  under- 
standing," and,  to  this  end,  "  give  himself  to 
reading,"  and  to  all  that  is  connected  with 
the  faithful  discharge  of  the  duties  of  the 
study  and  the  pulpit ;  and,  at  the  same  time, 
be  every  where,  know  every  thing,  and  take 
upon  himself  the  inspection,  and  regulation 
of  all  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  congrega- 
tion, widely  extended,  and  pressingly  de- 
manding daily  and  hourly  attention — every 
reflecting  mind  perceives  to  be  impossible. 
But  even  if  the  Pastor  were  able  himself  ever 
so  fully  and  adequately  to  accomplish  this 
work,  ought  he  to  be  willing  to  undertake 
it?  and  if  he  were  willing,  would  it  be  wise 
to  commit  it  into  his  hands  alone  ?  We  know 
that  ministers  are  subject  to  the  same  frailties 
and  imperfections  as  other  men.    We  know, 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  15 

too,  that  a  love  of  pre-eminence  and  of  power 
is  not  only  natural  to  them  in  common  with 
others ;  but  that  this  principle,  very  early 
after  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  began  to  mani- 
fest itself  as  the  reigning  sm  of  ecclesiastics, 
and  produced,  first  Prelacy,  and  afterwards 
Popery,  which  has  so  long,  and  so  ignobly 
enslaved  the  Church  of  Christ.  Does  not 
this  plainly  show  the  folly  and  danger  of 
yielding  undefined  power  to  pastors  alone? 
Is  it  wise  or  safe  to  constitute  any  one  man, 
however  pious,  a  sovereign  ruler  over  a  whole 
church?  Would  any  prudent  Pastor  feel  com- 
fortable in  the  consciousness  that  he  was  the 
sole  inspector  and  judge  of  all  his  Church 
members,  and  that  their  standing  was  entirely 
in  his  hands  ?  Would  not  such  a  position  be 
apt  to  exert  an  unhappy  influence  on  his  own 
spirit  ?  And  even  if  this  were  not  the  result, 
would  not  jealousy  of  him  and  suspicion  be 
apt  to  arise  in  the  minds  of  others,  thus  di- 
minishing his  power  to  promote  the  welfare 
of  his  flock? 

How,  then,  shall  pure  and  impartial  dis- 
cipline be  maintained  ?  The  Pastor  cannot 
be  expected  to  conduct  it  alone.  If  not,  who 
shall  assist  him  ?    Shall  the  whole  body  of 


16  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

the  communicants  be  the  inspectors  and  rulers 
of  themselves?  No  one  can  think  of  the 
want  of  knowledge,  wisdom  and  prudence  in 
the  mass  of  church  membersj  without  per- 
ceiving that  the  maintenance  of  enlightened, 
wise  and  scriptural  discipline  in  their  hands 
would  be  altogether  hopeless.  Shall  a  select 
number  of  the  most  wise  and  pious  be  chosen 
and  constituted  a  committee,  to  advise  and 
assist  the  Pastor  in  conducting  this  important 
and  delicate  business  ?  Would  not  such  com- 
mittee-men be  Ruling  Elders  in  disguise;  thus, 
at  once,  practically  acknowledging  that  they 
cannot  be  dispensed  with,  and  yet  denying 
that  there  is  any  scriptural  warrant  for  them  ? 
The  truth  is,  the  practice  of  almost  all  deno- 
minations who  reject  the  office  of  Ruling 
Elders  in  theory,  contradicts  that  theory, 
and  recognizes  the  necessity  of  some  aid 
to  the  Pastor  in  his  work  as  "  Overseer/' 
by  means  of  select  individuals.  It  follows, 
then,  that  discipline,  all  important  and  vital 
as  it  is,  cannot  be  conducted  in  an  edify- 
ing manner  without  some  expedient  by 
which  a  few  of  the  communicants  are  con- 
stituted counsellors  or  helps  of  the  Pastor  in 
presiding  over  it.     Where  there  is  no  such 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  17 

bench  of  counsellors  the  inspection  and  moral 
regulation  of  the  Church,  must  be  either 
lamentably  neglected,  or  conducted  in  a  ca- 
pricious and  inadequate  manner,  as  is  no- 
toriously the  case  in  all  those  churches  in 
which  the  office  in  question  is  unknown,  and 
no  substitute  for  it  provided.  Now,  is  it  pro- 
bable, can  it  be  believed,  that  the  all-wise 
King  and  Head  of  his  Church  should  entirely 
overlook  this  necessity  for  such  an  office,  and 
make  no  provision  for  it  ?  It  is  not  credible. 
We  might,  then,  either  suppose  that  such  an 
office  as  that  in  question  was  divinely  ap- 
pointed; or  that  means,  acknowledged  by 
the  practice  of  all  to  be  indispensable  in  con- 
ducting the  best  interests  of  the  Church  were 
forgotten  or  neglected  by  her  all-wise  Head 
and  Lord.  Surely  the  latter  cannot  be  im- 
puted to  infinite  Wisdom. 

Such  are  the  arguments  by  which  we  are 
conducted  to  the  conclusion  that  the  office  of 
Ruling  Elder  is  appointed  by  God,  and  ought 
to  be  found  in  every  church.'^     Let  us  next, 

L  Attend  to  the  nature  of  the  office.  The 
essential  nature  of  the  office  of  which  we  now 

*  See  Appendix,  note  B. 
2 


18  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

-/^  speak  is  that  of  an  ecclesiastical  Ruler.  "  He 
that  ruleth,  let  him  do  it  with  diligence,"  is 
the  summary  of  his  appropriate  functions,  as 
laid  down  in  Scripture.  The  Teaching  Elder 
is  indeed  also  a  ruler.  In  addition  to  this, 
however,  he  is  called  to  preach  the  Gospel, 
and  administer  sacraments.  But  the  particu- 
lar department  assigned  to  the  Ruling  Elder, 
is  to  co-operate  with  the  Pastor  of  the  flock 
in  spiritual  inspection  and  government.  The 
Scriptures,  as  we  have  seen,  speak  not  only 
of  "Pastors"  and  "Teachers,"  but  also  of 
"helps,"  "governments,"  or  of  "helps  in 
government;"  of  "Elders  that  rule  well,  but 
do  not  labour  in  the  word  and  doctrine." 

It  is,  in  the  nature  of  things,  desirable,  and 
indeed  highly  important,  that  there  be,  in 
every  church,  a  class  of  officers  between  the 
Pastor  and  the  body  of  the  people.  Were 
none  but  Pastors  vested  with  the  power  of 
inspecting  and  bearing  rule  in  the  Church, 
they  might,  and  probably  would,  as  before 
stated,  become  objects  of  jealousy  and  sus- 
picion on  the  part  of  the  people.  But  where 
there  is,  in  every  congregation,  a  bench  of 
Elders,  or  of  grave  and  enlightened  Senators, 
chosen  from  among  the  private  members  of 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  19 

the  Church,  and  havmg  originally  the  same 
feelings  and  interests  with  them,  associated 
with  the  Pastors,  to  consult  and  co-operate 
with  them  in  watching  over  and  governing 
the  flock  of  Christ,  we  may  expect,  under  the 
divine  blessing,  all  that  harmony  of  counsel, 
and  all  that  decision  and  vigour  of  regulation, 
which  are  so  desirable  and  important  in 
building  up  the  Church  of  God. 

An  intelligent  and  faithful  Eldership,  is, 
on  the  one  hand,  one  of  the  most  efficient 
barriers  against  clerical  ambition  and  en- 
croachment, that  can  well  be  imagined ;  and 
on  the  other,  one  of  the  most  powerful  stimu- 
lants, as  well  as  aids,  to  clerical  industry  and 
fidelity,  that  the  great  Head  of  the  Church 
ever  introduced  into  his  organized  body. 

The  Elders  in  each  church  are  to  be  con- 
sidered as  representing  the  body  of  the  com- 
municants, and  as  chosen,  under  the  authority 
of  Christ,  to  act  in  their  behalf  And,  as 
judges  and  magistrates,  in  the  State,  are  in- 
vested with  an  important  office,  and  bear  in 
their  persons  something  of  the  dignity  of  that 
community  which  they  represent  and  serve  ; 
so  the  Church,  being  a  community  of  still 
more  sacred  and  precious  character,  those 


20  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

who  are  set  apart  to  serve  her,  and  act  as  her 
representatives,  have  a  high  trust  committed 
to  them,  and  bear  an  honour  and  an  authority 
second  only  to  the  authority  and  the  honour 
borne  by  those  "  who  labour  in  the  word  and 
doctrine,'^  and  are  authorized  to  administer 
the  sacramental  seals  of  Jehovah's  house 
and  covenant. 

Ruhng  Elders,  then,  are  by  no  means  in- 
tended to  serve  as  an  ecclesiastical  conve- 
nience or  pageant ;  but  are  appointed  to  fill 
a  most  important  station,  and  to  serve  the 
Church  of  God  in  her  most  precious  interests. 
They  are,  in  fact,  the  Church  herself,  in  her 
representative  body ;  just  as  the  acts  of  the 
legislative  body  of  a  political  community, 
are  said  to  be  the  acts  of  the  people  of  the 
State  acting  by  their  constitutional  organs. 
The  Ruling  Elder,  no  less  than  the  Teaching 
Elder,  or  Pastor,  is  to  be  considered  as  acting 
under  the  authority  of  Christ,  in  all  that  he 
rightly  does.  If  his  office  is  appointed  by  the 
great  Head  of  the  Church ;  if  it  is  an  ordi- 
nance of  Jesus  Christ  just  as  much  as  that  of 
the  ministers  of  the  Gospel ;  then  the  former, 
equally  with  the  latter,  is  Christ's  officer.  He 
has  a  right  to  speak  and  act  in  Christ's  name; 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  21 

and  the  members  of  the  Church  are  just  as 
much  bound  to  sustain,  honour  and  obey 
him,  as  they  are  to  honour  any  other  officer 
or  ordinance  of  the  Divine  Redeemer. 

To  the  Church  Session,  or  Eldership,  is 
committed  the  spiritual  inspection  and  go- 
vernment of  each  congregation.  In  this  body 
every  Elder  has  an  equal  voice  with  the  Pas- 
tor, and,  of  course,  equal  responsibility.  And, 
as  in  this  parochial  Presbytery,  if  I  may  so 
term  it,  the  Elders  have  a  majority,  it  is  evi- 
dent that  a  most  important  amount  of  power 
is  committed  to  them,  and  that,  on  the  wise 
and  faithful  exercise  of  this  power  the  pros- 
perity of  the  cause  of  Christ  may  be  said, 
under  God,  essentially  to  depend.  Their 
office  not  only  enables,  but  solicits  and  con- 
strains them  to  be  constantly  employed  in 
watching  over  the  flock  of  Christ,  and  in 
various  ways  promoting  its  knowledge,  pu- 
rity, edification,  and  comfort. 

It  has  been  made  a  question,  whether  this 
class  of  church  officers  ought  to  be  styled  Lay- 
men, Lay-Elders,  or  not?  It  is  very  certain 
that  in  the  second,  third,  and  fourth  centuries, 
the  term  "clergy"  was  applied  to  all  Church 
officers;  not  only  the  Pastors,but  also  the  Ru- 


22  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

ling  Elders,  the  Deacons,  and  even  the  Readers^ 
were  all  styled  Clergy,  as  distmguished  from 
the  Laity.  And,  although  the  whole  subject 
of  titles  in  the  Church  of  God  is  of  very  small 
importance,  not  worth  contending  about;  al- 
though I  would  never  spend  a  moment  in 
pleading  for  a  word — not  even  for  the  appli- 
cation of  the  term  Clergy  at  all  to  the  minis- 
ters of  the  Gospel,  since  it  is  a  term  of 
human  courtesy  alone,  rather  than  of  divine 
%  prescription;  yet  as  a  distinction  ought,  un- 
doubtedly, to  be  kept  up  between  the  mass 
of  the  church  members  and  their  spiritual 
officers; — ^my  judgment  is,  that  they  ought 
not  to  be  styled  Lay-Elders;  but  that  they 
ought,  agreeably  to  early  usage,  to  be  con- 
sidered and  styled  Ruling  Elders,  or  called  by 
some  name  expressive  of  their  spiritual  office 
in  the  house  of  God,  and  distinguishing  them 
from  the  mass  of  the  private  members  of  the 
Church. 

From  the  nature  of  this  office  we  may 
gather  the  qualifications  which  are  essentially 
desirable  and  necessary  for  the  discharge  of 
its  duties.  Those  who  are  called  upon  to 
"  bear  the  vessels  of  the  Lord;"  to  act  in  the 
name  and  on  the  behalf  of  the  Church  of 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  23 

Christ;  to  discharge  such  extensive,  interest- 
ing, and  highly  important  spiritual  functions ; 
whose  daily  and  hourly  acts  enter  so  deeply 
into  the  order,  the  purity,  the  edification,  and 
the  comfort  of  the  Church  of  God; — surely 
ought  to  bear  a  character  corresponding  with 
these  high  duties.  Without  unfeigned  piety, 
and  a  taste  for  prayer  and  spiritual  conver- 
sation; without  good  sense,  wisdom,  and 
prudence;  without  some  knowledge  of  hu- 
man nature  and  of  the  world;  Avithout  an 
intelligent  acquaintance  with  the  Scriptural 
doctrines  and  order  of  the  Church;  without 
some  good  measure  of  sanctified  zeal,  pub- 
lic spirit,  and  of  tender,  persevering  benevo- 
lence— they  cannot  be  considered  as  qualified 
for  a  plenary  discharge  of  all  their  duties; 
and  the  more  richly  they  are  endowed  in  all 
these  respects,  the  better  are  they  prepared 
to  fulfil  the  great  purpose  to  which  their 
office  looks. 

In  regard  to  various  questions  which  may 
be  asked  concerning  the  ordination  of  Ruling 
Elders,  and  the  part  which  they  ought  to 
take  in  the  ordination  of  Pastors,  I  shall  for- 
bear to  enter  into  any  extended  inquiry;— 
being  fully  persuaded  that  those  who  have 


24  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

requested  me  to  perform  this  service,  are 
much  more  intent  on  knowing  and  perform- 
ing the  duties,  than  in  appreciating  the  hon- 
ours, or  contending  for  the  prerogatives  of 
the  office  which  they  bear.  Suffice  it  to  say, 
that,  according  to  the  best  of  my  knowledge 
and  behef,  RuUpg  Eldpjs,  with  the  single 
exception  to  be  presently  mentioned,  have 
never  been  themselves  ordained  with  the  im- 
position of  hands ;— and  that,  not  only  in  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  but  also  in  the  Presby- 
terian Churches  of  France,  Holland,  Swit- 
zerland, Germany,  and  throughout  the  con- 
tinent of  Europe.  That  mode  of  conducting 
the  ordination  of  this  class  of  officers  was 
wholly  unknown,  since  the  Reformation, 
until  recently.     It  was  first  employed  in  the 

Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States, 

J, 

about  thirty-five  years  ago;  and  I  am  happy 
to  say,  is  slowly  gaining  ground  in  our 
churches.* 

But  I  cannot  forbear  taking  particular  no- 
tice of  a  claim  lately  urged  in  favour  of  those 
who  bear  this  olfice: — that  they  ought  to 
unite  with  Pastors  in  the  imposition  of  hands 
in  the  ordination  of  Pastors.     After  the  most 

*  See  Appendix,  note  C. 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  25 

careful  and  impartial  examination  that  I  am  '/"^ 
able  to  give  this  subject,  I  feel  warranted  in  * 
affirming,  that  such  a  claim  or  practice  was 
never  known  or  heard  of  in  any  Presbyte- 
rian Church  on  earth,  until  within  a  very 
few  years,  in  one  of  our  western  judicatories. 
I  say,  such  a  practice  was  never  known 
or  heard  of  in  any  Presbyterian  Church. 
Among  Independents,  indeed,  it  has  been 
both  contended  for  and  practised;  as  it  na- 
turally resulted  from  their  erroneous  views  of 
the  nature  and  functions  of  the  office;  but 
among  Presbyterians  it  was  never  thought 
of  until  recently.  And  as  the  practice  is 
wholly  without  precedent,  so  I  believe  it  to 
be  contrary  to  essential  Presbyterian  princi- 
ple. As  the  two  offices  of  Teaching  and 
Ruling  Elder  are  entirely  different,*of  course, 
no  act  implying  that  they  belong  to  the  same 
order  ought  ever  to  be  admitted.  As  Ruling 
Elders  have  no  authority  to  preach  the  Gos- 
pel, or  to  administer  Sacraments,  how  can 
they,  with  propriety,  unite  in  those  symboli- 
cal acts  which  imply  the  imparting  of  this 
authority  to  others?  How  can  they  take  the 
ordained  minister  by  the  hand,  on  his  rising 
from  his  knees,  and  say,  "  We  give  you  the 

3 


26  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

right  hand  of  fellowship,  to  take  part  of  this 
ministry  with  us?"  Is  the  Ruling  Elder  ever 
called  a  minister,  in  the  language  of  our  pub- 
he  formularies?  Is  his  office  ever  styled  a 
"ministry?"  With  what  propriety,  then, 
could  he  take  part  in  such  a  significant  and 
authoritative  act? 

Some,  indeed,  of  the  advocates  of  the  claim 
in  question,  contend  that  the  Teaching  and 
Ruling  Elder  are  officers  of  precisely  the 
same  order,  and  possess,  in  every  respect, 
the  same  rights.  If  so,  then  it  is  evident  that 
every  Church  Session  may,  without  scruple, 
ordain  Teaching  Elders,  or  Pastors;  and  if 
this  be  admitted,  we  may  bid  farewell  to  the 
Ruling  Elder's  office  in  any  thing  like  its 
present  peculiar  form.  It  was  by  precisely 
such  an  assumption,  fourteen  or  fifteen  hun- 
dred years  ago,  that  this  important  office  was, 
for  a  number  of  centuries,  in  a  great  measure 
banished  from  the  church.  And  it  appears 
to  me  impossible  to  doubt,  that,  if  the  new 
claim  be  sanctioned,  and  allowed  to  prevail, 
the  same  will  be  the  result  again.  Some 
contenders  for  the  new  doctrine,  however, 
perhaps  the  larger  portion  of  them,  perceiving 
that  the  adoption  of  this  principle  would  be 


PRESBBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  27 

SO  serious  an  invasion  of  tlie  present  consti- 
tution of  the  Church,  have  forborne  to  urge 
its  adoption.  But  if  the  first  step  in  this  inno- 
vation be  admitted,  it  is  not  difficult  to  foretell 
that  every  other  will  speedily  follow. 

But  perhaps  it  may  be  asked,  if  Ruling 
Elders  may  not  impose  hands  in  the  ordina- 
tion of  Pastors,  why  are  they  allowed  to  sit 
in  Presbytery,  and  to  give  a  controlling  vote 
in  deciding  whether  candidates  for  the  pas- 
toral office  shall  be  ordained  or  not;  thus  in 
fact,  vesting  them  with  the  power,  in  sup- 
posable  cases,  of  virtually  conferring  or  with- 
holding the  office?  I  answer,  for  the  same 
reason,  and  on  the  same  principle,  that  the 
Elders,  in  a  Church  Session,  may  decide,  by 
their  votes,  that  an  adult  candidate  who  has 
never  been  baptized,  shall  be  admitted  to 
membership  in  the  church  by  holy  baptism, 
when  no  one  of  their  number,  after  giving 
his  vote,  can  administer  the  baptism,  but, 
must  leave  this  to  be  done  by  a  superior 
officer ;  for  the  same  reason  that  a  Ruling 
Elder,  after  giving  his  regular  vote  for  the 
excommunication  of  a  delinquent  member  of 
the  church,  cannot  regularly  go  into  the  pul- 
pit and  pronounce  the  sentence,  though  pro- 


28  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

nouncing  the  sentence  be  a  regular  judicial 
act ;  for  the  same  reason,  and  on  the  same 
principle,  that  a  Ruling  Elder,  though  to  all 
intents  and  purposes,  a  member  of  the  Pres- 
bytery, while  he  actually  occupies  a  seat  in 
that  judicatory,  and  able  to  give,  in  his  ap- 
propriate place,  as  potent  a  vote  as  any  other 
member,  yet,  as  all  agree,  cannot  open  the 
session  of  the  body  with  a  sermon,  or  pro- 
nounce the  apostolical  benediction  at  its  close. 

But,  my  respected  brethren  of  the  Elder- 
ship, I  repeat,  that,  as  I  am  persuaded  you 
are  far  more  intent  on  understanding  and 
performing  the  duties  of  your  office,  than  in 
contending  for  its  honours;  so  I  feel  confi- 
dent that  I  shall  best  fulfil  your  wishes  by 
employing  the 

III.  And  only  remaining  head  of  this  dis- 
course, in  pointing  out  some  of  the  various 
ways  in  which  it  is  your  official  privilege 
and  duty  to  serve  the  Church  of  God. 

And  here  it  is  evident,  that,  if  Ruling 
Elders  are  appointed  by  Christ  to  be  "  over- 
seers of  the  flock ;"  to  aid  the  pastor  in 
watching  over  and  promoting  all  the  spi- 
ritual interests  of  the  congregation  commit- 
ted to  their  charge,  then  a  wide  range,  and  a 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  29 

most  important  catalogue  of  duties  are  open- 
ed before  them,  by  the  faithful  discharge  of 
which  they  may  render  incalculable  service 
to  the  cause  of  their  Master  in  heaven.  So 
large,  indeed,  as  well  as  interesting  is  this 
catalogue,  that  it  is  not  easy  to  know  where 
to  begin  or  where  to  end  the  enumeration. 

These  duties,  for  the  sake  of  order,  may 
be  divided  into  two  great  classes;  those 
which  devolve  upon  them  when  acting  in 
the  judicatories,  in  which  their  office  assigns 
them  seats,  and  those  to  which  they  are  call- 
ed in  their  daily  and  more  private  intercourse 
with  the  families  and  members  of  the  flock 
of  which  they  have  been  appointed  the  in- 
spectors and  guardians. 

The  Elders  of  every  church,  when  sitting 
in  that  body,  which  we  denominate  the 
^^  Church  Session,"  or  which  might,  without 
impropriety,  be  styled  the  parochial  presby- 
tery, as  made  up  of  presbyters  or  elders — 
have  committed  to  them  all  the  spiritual 
interests  of  the  congregation,  which  they  are 
bound  continually  to  consult  and  promote  by 
all  the  means  in  their  power.  For  this  pur- 
pose they  are  empowered  to  take  cognizance 
of  the  knowledge,  and  Christian  conduct  of 


30  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

every  communicant;  to  admit  and  dismiss 
members ;  to  mark,  and,  as  far  as  possible, 
to  correct,  every  thing  immoral  or  disorderly 
on  the  part  of  chm'ch  members ;  to  arraign 
and  try  those  who  are  charged  with  any  de- 
parture from  the  laws  of  Christ ;  to  acquit, 
censure,  admonish,  rebuke,  or  excommuni- 
cate those  who  may  be  subjects  of  trial; 
and,  in  a  word,  to  concert  the  best  measures 
for  securing  the  Christian  training  of  the 
children  of  the  Church,  and  for  promoting  all 
the  spiritual  interests  of  the  congregation. 

It  is  hardly  necessary  to  say,  that  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  Church  Session,  every  Elder  has 
an  equal  vote  with  the  pastor,  and  an  equal 
right  to  propose  and  urge  whatever  he  may 
think  likely  to  advance  the  spiritual  welfare 
of  the  particular  flock  to  which  he  belongs, 
or  of  the  general  body  with  which  he  is  con- 
nected. Of  course,  it  is  manifest,  that,  when- 
ever a  majority  of  the  session  are  opposed 
to  the  pastor,  they  may  control  him,  so  far 
as  acts  properly  sessional  are  concerned; 
nor  can  he  counteract  their  votes,  or  carry 
his  point  against  them  in  any  other  regular 
way  than  by  appealing  or  complaining  to  his 
presbytery. 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  31 

Every  Church  Session  is  empowered  to 
delegate  one  or  more  of  its  members,  accord- 
ing to  the  number  of  its  Pastors,  to  sit  in 
Presbytery  and  Synod,  there  to  exercise,  in 
connection  with  Pastors,  all  the  powers  to 
which  their  office  entitles  them.  They  are 
not,  indeed,  stated  or  permanent  members  of 
these  judicatories,  as  ministers  of  the  Gospel 
are  ;  but  each  one  becomes  such,  only  occa- 
sionally, and  in  virtue  of  a  special  delegation. 
Here  is  another  very  material  point  of  differ- 
ence between  Teaching  and  Ruling  Elders. 
In  all  these  judicatories,  however,  it  is,  of 
course,  the  right  and  duty  of  the  latter,  in  the 
same  plenary  manner  as  of  the  former,  freely 
to  propose  such  plans — publicly  to  offer  such 
pleas  in  defence  of  them — and  authoritatively 
to  give  such  votes,  as  may  appear  to  them 
adapted  most  effectually  to  promote  the  in- 
terests of  pure  and  undefiled  religion. 

When  a  Ruling  Elder  becomes  chargeable 
with  any  personal  or  official  delinquency,  he 
is  to  be  tried  according  to  our  system,  by  the 
Church  Session.  But  when  a  Teaching  El- 
der, or  Pastor  becomes  chargeable  with  any 
such  delinquency,  process  cannot  be  com- 
menced against  him  by  the  Church  Session. 


32  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

He  must  be  tried  by  his  Presbytery.  Yet  a 
Pastor  may  fall  into  such  negligence  or  omis- 
sions as  admit  of  correction  by  gentler  mea- 
sures than  the  commencement  of  regular,  ju- 
dicial process.  In  such  cases  the  Session,  or 
individual  members  of  it,  are  bound,  respect- 
fully and  affectionately  to  counsel  him,  and 
to  do  all  in  their  power  to  bring  about  a 
correction  of  the  evil  complained  of.  Nor 
can  the  members  of  the  Session  be  said  to 
have  performed  their  duty  with  faithfulness, 
in  such  a  case,  unless  they  have  presented 
to  the  view  of  the  Pastor,  with  affectionate 
remonstrance,  whatever  in  his  ministry,  they 
may  consider  as  unfriendly  to  the  spiritual 
interests  of  the  congregation,  and  as  calling 
for  correction. 

But  a  second  class  of  duties  incumbent  on 
Ruling  Elders  is  that  large  and  import- 
ant class  which  devolve  upon  them,  every 
day  and  hour,  in  all  their  intercourse  with  the 
members  of  the  flock  over  which  the  Holy 
Ghost  hath  made  them  overseers.  These  are 
so  numerous  and  multiform  that  no  adequate 
enumeration  of  them  can  here  be  made.  It 
is,  first  of  all,  their  duty  to  set  an  example  of 
holy  living,  at  once  instructive  and  edifying 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  33 

to  the  flock.  It  is  their  duty  every  day,  and 
in  all  their  social  intercourse,  to  have  an  eye 
of  inspection  and  care  over  all  the  members 
of  the  congregation ;  and,  for  this  purpose  to 
visit,  and  cultivate  an  acquaintance  with 
every  family,  and,  as  far  as  possible,  with 
every  individual  of  the  flock  committed  to 
their  care.  They  are  bound  to  watch  over 
the  children  and  youth,  and  especially  all  the 
baptized  children  and  youth,  with  parental 
vigilance,  studying  to  know  them  by  sight 
and  by  name  ;  —  aflectionately  addressing 
them  on  all  proper  occasions ;  giving  to  them, 
and  to  their  parents,  on  their  behalf,  a  word 
of  seasonable  counsel,  and  pressing  the  Lord^s 
claim  to  their  hearts  and  lives  as  the  children 
of  the  Church.  It  is  their  duty  to  regard  with 
a  watchful  and  parental  eye  all  those  who, 
from  time  to  time,  become  serious,  and  dis- 
posed to  inquire  concerning  their  eternal  in- 
terests ;  to  converse  with  them ;  and  to  give 
information  concerning  them  to  the  Pastor. 
It  is  their  duty  to  notice,  and  kindly  to  ad- 
monish in  private,  those  members  of  the 
Church  who  appear  to  be  growing  careless, 
or  falling  into  habits  in  any  respect  suspi- 
cious, unpromising,  or  criminal.     It  is  their 


34  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

duty  to  visit  the  sick,  and  to  instruct,  comfort 
and  pray  with  them ;  and  to  request  the  at- 
tendance of  the  Pastor  on  the  sick,  when  it 
may  be  seasonable  or  desired.  It  is  incum- 
bent on  them  to  assist  the  Pastor  in  main- 
taining meetings  for  social  prayer;  to  take  a 
part  in  conducting  the  devotional  exercises  in 
those  meetings ;  to  preside  in  them  when  the 
Pastor  is  absent,  and  if  they  are  endowed 
with  suitable  gifts,  under  his  direction,  occa- 
sionally to  drop  a  word  of  instruction  and  ex- 
hortation. If  the  Elders  neglect  these  meet- 
ings, (the  importance  of  which  is  above  all 
estimate,)  there  is  every  reason  to  apprehend 
that  they  will  not  be  duly  honoured  or  at- 
tended upon  by  the  great  body  of  the  people. 
It  is  the  duty  of  the  Elders  to  visit  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Church,  and  their  families, — with 
the  Pastor,  if  he  request  it, — without  him,  if 
he  do  not; — to  converse  with  them;  to  in- 
struct the  ignorant; — to  confirm  the  waver- 
ing ; — to  caution  the  unwary ; — to  reclaim 
the  wandering; — to  reconcile  those  who  are 
at  variance  ; — to  encourage  the  timid ; — and 
to  excite  and  animate  all  to  a  faithful  and 
exemplary  discharge  of  duty.  It  is  incum- 
bent on  them  to  consult  frequently  and  freely 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  35 

among  themselves,  and  with  their  Pastor,  in 
regard  to  the  interests  of  the  flock  committed 
to  their  charge  ;  to  aid  him  in  catechizing  the 
children  of  the  congregation  ;  in  maintaining 
Bible  classes ;  and  in  forming  and  executing 
plans  for  the  welfare  of  the  Church,  and  for 
the  advancement  of  the  great  cause  of  know- 
ledge, order  and  holy  living ; — and,  in  fine, 
to  hold  up  the  hands,  and  endeavour  to  ex- 
tend the  usefulness  of  their  Pastor, — by 
friendly  counsel ;  by  giving  him,  from  time  to 
time,  all  desirable  information  concerning  the 
state  of  the  Church;  by  praying  for  him; 
and  by  all  the  means  in  their  power  adapted 
to  lighten  his  burdens,  to  encourage  his  heart, 
and  to  promote  the  efficiency  of  his  labours. 
I  shall  never  forget  the  character  of  one 
Ruling  Elder  with  whom  it  was  my  happi- 
ness to  be  intimately  acquainted  in  early  life. 
He  was  born  and  spent  his  youth  in  the 
bosom  of  a  Congregational  Church,  but 
toward  the  middle  of  life  he  entered  the 
Presbyterian  Church,  and  seemed  to  em- 
brace with  perfect  cordiality  her  system  of 
apostolic  order,  as  well  as  of  scriptural  doc- 
trine. Recommended  by  his  good  sense,  his 
amiable  temper,  and  his  fervent  and  exem- 


36  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

plary  piety,  he  was  soon  elected  and  or- 
dained as  a  Ruling  Elder.  He  was  not  dis- 
tinguished by  great  wealth,  nor  by  high 
station  in  secular  society ;  nor  had  he  any 
of  those  imposing  manners  or  factitious  arts 
by  which  the  children  of  this  world  know 
how  to  arrogate  to  themselves  the  honours 
which  men  can  give;  for  he  was  one  of  the 
most  modest,  unassuming  and  meek  of  men ; 
but  he  was,  on  the  whole,  among  the  most 
diligent,  indefatigable,  exemplary  and  de- 
voted Ruling  Elders  that  I  ever  saw.  He 
was  not  slothful  in  his  worldly  business ;  but 
he  had  many  leisure  hours,  and  they  all 
seemed  to  be  consecrated  to  the  cause  of 
Christ.  He  was,  in  every  sense  of  the  word, 
a  helper  to  his  pastor.  He  visited  and  prayed 
with  the  sick,  with  the  tenderest  assiduity. 
He  was  watchful  and  quick-sighted  to  dis- 
cern those  who  were  serious,  anxious,  or 
disposed  to  inquire  concerning  their  eternal 
interest,  and  ever  ready  to  converse  with 
and  instruct  them.  He  was  never  absent 
from  the  prayer  meeting,  and  always  ready 
to  take  his  part  in  conducting  its  exercises. 
He  kept  his  eye  on  the  children  of  the 
Church  J  made  a  point  of  recognizing  them 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  37 

whenever  they  fell  in  his  way,  and  of  stri- 
ving to  engage  them  in  the  service  of  Clirist. 
He  was  ever  ready  to  assist  his  Pastor  in 
catechizing  them,  and  to  supply  his  place  in 
that  duty  when  he  was  absent.  He  was 
vigilant  to  observe  every  thing  in  the  face 
of  the  congregation  which  called  for  atten- 
tion. When  he  saw  any  one  who  appeared 
to  be  impressed  by  the  preaching  of  the 
word,  he  seldom  failed  to  notice  it,  and, 
without  delay,  to  pay  the  individual  an 
affectionate  visit.  He  reproved  sin  and 
error  wherever  he  observed  them,  with  a 
mixture  of  solemnity  and  paternal  tender- 
ness which  was  generally  received,  even  by 
the  culprit,  as  an  "excellent  oil."  He  was 
ever  vigilant  to  discern  when  a  member  of 
the  Church  was  relaxing  in  diligence,  or 
sliding  into  error,  or  evil  habits,  and  to  ad- 
minister an  affectionate  admonition.  He 
was  constantly  giving  to  his  pastor  some 
information  to  guide  him,  some  hint  or  sug- 
gestion to  stimulate  him,  or  some  effort  of 
co-operation  to  aid  him ;  but  all  with  a  mo- 
desty, a  humility,  and  a  respectfulness  which 
evinced  that  he  had  no  desire  to  exalt  him- 
self, but  to  promote  his  pastor's  honour,  com- 


38  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

fort  and  usefulness,  and  to  attain  the  salvation 
of  souls.  In  short,  wherever  he  was,  he 
seemed  never  to  lose  sight  of  his  duty  as 
an  "  overseer  of  the  flock,"  and  as  bound 
to  be  a  source  of  instruction  and  edification 
to  all  whom  he  approached. 

When  this  excellent  man  was  appointed 
to  a  seat  in  the  higher  judicatories  of  the 
Church,  he  was  punctual  in  attendance,  and 
always  ready  to  take  his  share,  and,  when 
necessary,  more  than  his  share,  of  every 
burden.  He  seldom  rose  to  speak ; — not 
because  he  doubted  his  right  to  speak  \vhen- 
ever  he  thought  proper,  but  because  he  con- 
sidered all  who  speak  often  and  long  in 
church  courts  as  a  great  nuisance,  and  was 
desirous  of  shunning  the  very  appearance  of 
their  error.  Vvlien  he  did  rise,  it  was  always 
in  a  manner  which  showed  that  he  had  no 
desire  to  hear  himself  talk  (nothing  was  ever 
further  from  the  good  man  than  such  a  spirit); 
but  to  give  information,  or  to  declare,  in  the 
simplest  and  fewest  words  possible,  why  he 
approved  any  proposed  measure,  or  was 
constrained  to  give  it  an  opposing  vote. 
And  in  all  that  he  said,  good  sense,  and  a 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  39 

disinterested  regard  to  the  Redeemer's  king- 
dom were  ever  manifest* 

A  thousand  times  have  I  said  to  myself, 
what  a  blessing  it  would  be  to  the  Church 
of  God  if  every  congregation  had  eight  or 
ten  such  elders,  gently  and  affectionately 
moving  about  among  the  people,  as  guar- 
dian angels,  full  of  love  to  souls, — full  of 
heavenly  wisdom, — ever  on  the  watch  to  do 
good,  reproving,  rebuking  and  exhorting, 
with  all  long-suffering  and  doctrine  !  Nay, 
if  every  congregation  in  the  land  had  even 
one  such  Ruling  Elder,  what  an  amount 
of  good  might  be  done,  every  day,  in  pro- 
moting the  spiritual  benefit  of  the  young 
and  the  aged,  and  building  up  the  Church  of 
God  in  knowledge,  faith  and  hohness  unto 
salvation ! 

Suppose  a  congregation  to  consist  of  two 
hundred  families:  suppose  there  to  be  set 
over  it,  in  connexion  with  the  Pastor,  six  or 
eight  Elders,  in  any  good  degree  like  minded 

*  The  excellent  man  here  described  was  Elisha  Coit, 
Esquire,  of  the  city  of  New  York.  T'le  portrait  may- 
appear  to  some  flattering ;  but  it  is  drawn  by  one  who 
knew  him  well,  and  who  verily  believes  that  he  has  not 
been  betrayed  into  any  excessive  colouring. 


40  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

with  him  whom  I  have  just  described :  sup- 
pose these  elders  to  divide  the  whole  parish 
into  districts,  and  each  to  make  a  point  of 
visiting  every  family  within  his  district  as 
often  as  he  had  opportunity ;  is  it  not  mani- 
fest, on  the  slightest  computation,  that  every 
family  might  easily  be  visited,  and  every 
child  and  young  person  recognized  and  ad- 
dressed three  or  four  times  every  year?  And 
if  we  suppose  the  Pastor  to  co-operate  with 
the  Elders  in  this  work  ;  to  receive  informa- 
tion from  them,  from  time  to  time,  of  those 
objects  which  demanded  his  particular  at- 
tention, and  to  visit  himself,  upon  an  ave- 
rage, five  or  six  families  every  week,  there 
would  be  secured,  in  such  a  case,  an  amount 
of  pastoral  inspection  and  guardian  care  truly 
precious,  and  adapted  to  produce  the  happiest 
effects. 

And  now,  my  beloved  and  respected 
friends,  allow  me  to  say  to  such  of  my  audi- 
ence as  belong  to  the  Eldership,  in  the  lan- 
guage of  the  Apostle  Peter — "The  Elders 
which  are  among  you,  I  exhort,  who  am  also 
an  Elder.  Feed  the  flock  of  God  which  is 
among  you,  taking  the  oversight  thereof,  not 
by  constraint,  but  willingly;  not  for  filthy 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  41 

lucre,  but  of  a  ready  mind;  neither  as  being 
lords  over  God's  heritage,  but  being  ensam- 
ples  to  the  flock.  And  when  the  chief  Shep- 
herd shall  appear,  ye  shall  receive  a  crown 
of  glory  that  fadeth  not  away."* 

Let  it  be  your  habitual  aim,  my  beloved 
and  respected  brethren  in  the  Lord,  to  mag- 
nify your  office ; — not  by  contending  for  its 
honours; — not  by  seeking  the  enlargement  of 
its  titles  and  privileges;  not  by  claiming  to 
be  called  of  men,  "  Rabbi,  Rabbi;" — but  by 
making  an  higher  estimate  of  the  importance 
of  your  office;  by  discharging,  with  more 
and  more  exemplary  diligence,  prayer,  and 
perseverance  its  most  arduous  and  self-deny- 
ing duties;  and  by  striving,  every  day,  to 
render  it  more  and  more  practically  subser- 
vient to  the  spiritual  interests  of  the  flock 
committed  to  your  charge. 

Our  lot,  my  fellow  servants  in  the  family 
of  Christ,  is  cast  in  an  age  of  mighty  plans, 
and  of  high  moral  effort  for  the  enlargement 
of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom,  and  for  promot- 
ing the  great  interests  of  knowledge,  order, 
holiness,  and  happiness  in  our  world.  For 
this   purpose   we  need   a  greatly  enlarged 

*  1  Peter  v.  1—4. 
4 


42  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

"  ministiy  of  the  word  and  doctrine;"  and 
we  are  seeking  to  multiply  the  numbers,  and 
to  elevate  the  character  of  those  who  are 
preparing  to  go  forth  and  preach  the  Gospel 
to  every  creature.  But  we  equally  need  an 
enlargement  and  elevation  of  the  office  of  the 
Eldership.  And,  unless  I  greatly  mistake, 
one  of  the  most  important  parts  of  the  plan 
for  enlarging  the  borders  of  the  Church  of 
Christ,  and  for  raising  the  standard  of  intelli- 
gence, piety,  and  zeal  in  every  part  of  the 
sacred  family,  is  wrapped  up  in  the  restora- 
tion of  the  office  of  our  Ruling  Elders  to  the 
standard  of  the  primitive  Church;  to  the 
standard  which  our  fathers  of  the  Reforma- 
tion contemplated  when  they  brought  back 
to  the  Church  the  employment  of  this  impor- 
tant office.  The  more  fully  this  restoration 
is  effected,  the  happier,  in  my  judgment,  will 
it  be  for  the  best  interests  of  our  Zion.  When 
our  Elders  shall,  in  good  earnest,  enter  into 
the  genuine  spirit  of  their  office ;  when  they 
shall  be  found  cordially  and  diligently  co- 
operating with  those  who  "labour  in  the 
word  and  doctrine,"  in  inspecting,  counsel- 
ling, and  watching  over  the  flocks  respec- 
tively committed  to  "  their  oversight  in  the 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  43 

Lord ;"  and  when  they  shall  be  suitably- 
honoured  and  employed  in  their  various  ap- 
propriate functions,  both  by  Pastors  and  peo- 
ple ; — this  change  will,  I  cannot  doubt,  be,  at 
once,  one  of  the  surest  precursors,  and  one  of 
the  most  efficient  means  of  bringing  back 
brighter  days  to  the  Church  of  God ;  by 
securing  a  more  zealous  and  active  co-opera- 
tion with  the  Pastors  than  we  have  ever  yet 
seen,  in  training  up  the  children  and  youth 
for  God ;  and  in  all  those  labours  of  family 
visitation  and  instruction  which  are  so  essen- 
tial to  the  enlargement  and  edification  of  the 
family  of  Christ. 

When  the  spirit  of  Prelacy,  generated  by 
human  ambition,  crept  into  the  Church  in 
the  third  century ;  when  piety  declined ;  and 
when  the  appropriate  work  of  the  Ruling  El- 
der became,  of  course,  irksome  and  unpopu- 
lar, the  office  gradually  fell  into  disuse,  and 
was  in  a  great  measure  banished  from  the 
Church.  It  seems  to  have  been,  for  many 
centuries,  retained  only  by  the  Waldenses, 
and  other  witnesses  for  the  truth  during  the 
dark  ages.  And  when,  at  the  period  of  the 
Reformation,  the  office  was  restored  to  some- 
thing like  its  primitive  character  and  useful- 


44  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

ness  in  most  of  the  Protestant  communions, 
it  was  again  banished  from  some  of  the  Re- 
formed Churches,  who  fell  into  the  error  of  the 
Independents,  by  mistaking  its  appropriate 
design ;  and  by  assigning  to  it  functions  which 
it  had  no  right  to  claim.  Thus  it  is  evident, 
that  Prelacy,  on  the  one  hand,  and  Indepen- 
dency on  the  other,  are  equally  unfriendly  to 
the  Scriptural  character,  and  appropriate  use- 
fulness of  this  most  important  office. 

And  it  is  easy,  now,  my  respected  fellow 
labourers  in  the  service  of  Christ,  to  destroy 
the  value,  and  even  the  existence  of  your  of- 
fice, by  falling  either  into  the  one  or  the  other 
of  these  extremes.  But  as  long  as  you  are 
willing  to  move  in  that  sphere  which  the 
word  of  God  prescribes,  and  which  the  Re- 
formed Churches  generally  adopted;  as  long 
as  you  are  willing  to  be  "helps  in  inspec- 
tion and  government"  to  the  Pastors  of  the 
Churches ;  as  long  as  you  suffer  not  your- 
selves, either  by  indolence  or  false  modesty, 
on  the  one  hand,  to  shrink  from  any  part  of 
your  appropriate  work;  or,  on  the  other,  by 
pride  and  ambition  to  affect  the  assumption 
of  what  belongs  not  to  your  office  ; — you  will 
be  a  great  blessing  to  the  Church  of  God. 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  45 

Every  Elder,  if  he  have  a  heart,  and  a  de- 
cisive zeal  for  his  work,  may  be  as  useful  as 
most  Pastors.  Nay,  many  Elders  may,  un- 
der God,  exert  an  influence,  and  confer  bene- 
fits, in  some  respects,  beyond  those  of  most 
Pastors.  For  Elders  may  sometimes  gain 
access  to  persons,  and  enjoy  opportunities  of 
doing  good,  from  which  ministers  of  the  Gos- 
pel are,  by  their  very  office,  in  a  great  mea- 
sure excluded.  The  Elders  of  the  Churches, 
my  beloved  brethren,  have  been  by  far  too 
long  in  the  habit  of  leaving  to  ministers  of 
the  Gospel  all  public  and  active  efforts  for 
promoting  the  great  interests  of  religion.  It 
is  high  time  to  awake  to  the  important  duties 
and  privileges  which  belong  to  their  office. 
Yes,  brethren,  when  the  time  shall  come, 
when  the  great  mass  of  our  Elders  shall  em- 
ploy themselves,  as  far  as  possible,  in  going 
about  doing  good ; — in  imparting  rehgious 
instruction,  and  pious  counsel  to  the  young 
and  the  old ; — in  catechizing  children  ; — in 
conducting  Bible  classes ; — in  family  visita- 
tions ; — and  in  every  spiritual  work  appro- 
priate to  their  office,  both  in  the  Church  Ses- 
sion and  out  of  it; — in  a  word,  when  they^ 
shall,  with  one  accord,  devote  themselves  to 


46  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

the  advancement  of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom 
by  all  the  means  in  their  power ; — ^then  may 
we  hope  to  see  better  days  in  the  Church  of 
God.  Then  may  we  hope  to  find  the  over- 
sight and  the  edification  of  Christian  flocks 
carried  on  in  a  manner  nearly  approaching 
to  the  primitive  model,  and  adapted  to  render 
"the  household  of  faith/'  in  a  more  eminent 
degree  than  the  present  generation  has  ever 
seen  it,  a  spiritual  and  holy  family — a  "  pe- 
culiar people" — among  Avhom  peace  and  love 
and  purity  and  joy  reign.  Happy  the  Elders 
who  may  be  instrumental  in  bringing  about 
such  a  period  of  glory ;  and  happy  the  Church 
that  may  be  favoured  with  such  a  band  of 
faithful  Elders  I  Then  may  she  be  expected 
to  "  rise  from  the  dust,  and  put  on  her  beau- 
tiful garments."  Then  may  she  be  expected 
to  ^' shine  forth,  clear  as  the  sun,  fair  as  the 
moon,  beautiful  as  Tirzah,  and  terrible  as  an 
army  with  banners." 

But  there  are  some  present  who  do  not 
bear  the  office  of  Ruling  Elder.  Some  minis- 
ters of  the  Gospel ;  and  some  private  Chris- 
tians. To  both  I  would  say,  make  a  high 
estimate  of  the  office  of  which  you  have  been 
hearing ;  and  strive  and  pray  that  it  may  be 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  47 

turned  to  the  best  account  for  the  glory  of 
God,  and  the  welfare  of  Zion.  Pastors! 
learn  more  and  more  to  give  appropriate 
honour  and  constant  employment  to  the 
Elders  of  your  churches.  I  have  long  been 
persuaded  that  our  Ruling  Elders  are,  for  the 
most  part,  far  less  active,  and  less  useful  than 
they  might  be,  and  ought  to  be  ; — partly,  on 
account  of  the  prevalence  of  erroneous,  or, 
at  least,  inadequate  views  of  the  nature  of 
the  office  itself;  partly,  on  account  of  the  in- 
dolence, or  indisposition  of  those  who  bear 
the  office  to  engage  in  the  whole  of  the  ap- 
propriate work  which  belongs  to  it;  and 
partly,  it  may  be,  because  the  pastors  of  the 
churches,  fail  to  encourage,  to  stimulate,  and 
to  draw  them  out  to  their  legitimate  duties. 
My  reverend  brethren  in  the  ministry !  so  far 
as  you  are  concerned,  let  this  no  longer  be 
the  case.  Let  every  Ruling  Elder  be  affec- 
tionately encouraged  and  urged  to  devote  as 
large  a  share  of  his  time,  and  strength,  and 
prayers  to  the  great  duties  of  his  office,  as  he 
can  possibly  spare  from  his  secular  employ- 
ment. Assign  to  each  one  of  your  "  helps 
in  government,"  as  far  as  possible,  a  field  of 
labour.     Give  every  one  of  them  something 


48  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

to  do ;  upon  the  well  known  principle  of 
"the  division  of  labour,"  (which  is  equally- 
applicable  to  the  work  of  the  Church  as  to 
the  tasks  of  secular  art.)  There  is  no  calcu- 
lating what  may  be  accomplished  by  the 
adoption  of  this  plan.  Let  no  month  pass 
without  a  meeting  of  the  Session  for  con- 
sultation and  prayer;  to  devise  ways  and 
means  for  promoting  the  best  interests  of 
the  congregation,  and  for  imploring  the  Di- 
vine blessing  upon  all  the  means  employed. 
Thus  armed  and  animated,  every  Elder 
may  become  a  centre  of  influence  as  benign 
and  rich  as  it  is  extensive.  Then,  instead  of 
there  being,  as  is  too  commonly  the  case, 
only  a  single  "  overseer  of  the  flock/'  there 
may  be  as  many  efl^ective  overseers  as  there 
are  Elders,  every  day  occupied  in  promoting 
the  spiritual  welfare  of  the  congregation. 

It  may  be  that  some  of  my  hearers,  and 
even  some  who  lay  claim  to  the  Christian 
character,  after  listening  to  the  statement 
which  has  been  made  concerning  the  nature 
and  duties  of  the  Elder's  oflrce,  are  tempted 
to  say  Avithin  themselves — "  We  would  not 
be  Elders  for  the  world ! — we  could  not  think, 
for  a  moment,  of  accepting  an  oflice  so  respon- 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  49 

sible,  and  from  the  occupants  of  which  so 
much  is  required  and  expected;  so  much 
beyond  what  we  ever  imagined  before;  so 
much  beyond  what  most  elders  appear  to 
consider  as  required  of  them." 

But  why,  my  Christian  friends,  should 
any,  who  acknowledge  Christ  as  their  master, 
and  have  any  portion  of  his  spirit,  indulge 
such  thoughts  as  these?  Is  not  every  Christian, 
whether  a  Minister,  an  Elder,  or  a  private 
member  of  the  Church,  bound  to  do  all  in 
his  power  for  the  extension  of  the  Redeemer's 
kingdom,  and  for  the  conversion  of  the  world? 
Is  any  disciple  of  Christ  at  liberty  so  far  to 
consult  his  own  ease  or  pleasure,  as  to  shrink 
from  doing  all  that  in  him  lies  for  promoting 
the  spiritual  welfare  of  all  within  his  reach  ? 
The  language  which  I  have  supposed  to  be 
passing  in  the  minds  of  some  of  my  hearers, 
when  presented  in  its  plain  import,  amounts 
to  this : — "  I  would  not  for  the  world  be 
pledged  to  the  cause  of  Christ.  I  would  not 
for  the  world  accept  of  an  office  in  which  I 
should  be  bound  to  do  all  in  my  power,  from 
day  to  day,to  promote  the  interests  of  pure  and 
undefiled  religion  in  the  church  with  which 
I  am  connected,  and  among  all  around  me." 

5 


50  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

Does  this  language  shock  you,  as  unfit  for 
Christian  Hps^and  as  aUen  from  the  Christian's 
heart  ?  Yet  it  is  the  very  spirit  of  the  lan- 
guage which  I  have  supposed,  and,  I  doubt 
not,  is  the  ver}^  spirit  of  many  a  respectable 
professor  of  religion,  who,  though  willing  to 
bear  the  name  of  Christ,  is  not  willing  to  take 
up  the  cross,  and  follow  Him  through  evil 
and  through  good  report;  and  who  cannot 
feel  that  he  "  is  not  his  own,  but  is  bought 
with  a  price,  and  is  bound  to  glorify  God  in 
his  body  and  his  spirit  which  are  God's." 
The  real  Christian  feels  that  he  is  not  at 
liberty  to  "  live  to  himself,  or  to  die  to  him- 
self" He  feels  himself  bound,  "whether 
he  lives,  to  live  to  the  Lord,  or  whether  he 
dies,  to  die  to  the  Lord ;"  in  a  word,  in  living 
and  in  dying  to  be  entirely  and  forever  con- 
secrated to  the  Lord.  The  moment  the  Chris- 
tian is  imbued  with  this  spirit,  and  in  propor- 
tion as  he  is  imbued  with  it,  he  is  willing  to 
take  any  place,  to  perform  any  service,  to 
make  any  sacrifice  to  which  the  voice  of 
Providence,  or  the  call  of  the  Church  may 
invite  him.  And  if  he  cannot  occupy  his 
place  or  perform  his  duties  as  well  as  he 
desires,  he  will  strive  and  pray  to  discharge 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  51 

them  as  well  as  he  can,  to  the  praise  of  his 
Master's  glory. 

Nor  ought  it  to  he  forgotten  by  some,  who 
may  be  called  to  the  office  of  Ruling  Elders, 
that  though  they  may  not  be  able,  in  this 
office,  to  serve  the  Church  in  all  the  depart- 
ments of  labour  which  appertain  to  it,  they 
may  not  be  at  liberty,  in  the  sight  either  of 
God  or  man,  on  that  account,  to  decline  the 
office.   There  are  those  who  cannot  do  much 
in   the   details   of  parochial  inspection  and 
visitation,  who  may  yet  serve  the  Church  by 
their  counsels,  and  in   judicatories,  to   an 
extent  not  easily  estimated.     It  is,  in  some 
cases,  with  Elders  as  it  is  with  Ministers  of 
the  Gospel.     Ordinarily  those  who  are  or- 
dained to  "  labour  in  the  word  and  doctrine'' 
are  bound  not  only  to  instruct  and  exhort 
from  the  pulpit,   but   also   "  from  house  to 
house.^'     Yet  we  all  know  that  some  minis- 
ters of  the  Gospel  have  such  peculiar  gifts, 
and  are  placed  in  such  circumstances,  no  less 
peculiar,  that  they  may  fulfil  their  ministry 
much  more  to  the  permanent  benefit  of  the 
Church,  and  to  the  glory  of  God,  by  other 
employments  than  by  habitual  visitation.  In 
like  manner,  I  have  known  Ruling  Elders 


52  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

who,  though,  on  account  of  their  temperament 
or  their  secular  occupations,  they  were  able 
to  do  little  in  the  wa}^  of  parochial  inspection 
and  visitation,  have,  by  their  habitual  gravity, 
prudence  and  ardent  piety,  been  "  ensamples 
to  the  flock ;"  and  by  their  intelligence  and 
wisdom  rendered  services,  in  conducting  the 
discipline  of  the  Church,  of  the  most  impor- 
tant character.  For,  although  I  would  by  no 
means  suggest  an  apology  for  the  omission 
of  any  duty,  on  the  part  of  any  officer  of  the 
Church ;  yet,  reason,  experience  and  the 
Word  of  God  all  conspire  to  teach  us,  that 
different  men  have  their  different  gifts;  and 
are  adapted  to  serve  the  Church  of  God, 
"  one  after  this  manner,  and  another  after 
that."  Let  every  one  be  fully  persuaded  in 
his  own  mind,  and  "  as  he  hath  received  the 
gift"  so  let  him  labour. 

Let  no  Christian  man,  then,  who  loves  the 
Saviour  and  his  cause,  and  who  really  desires 
to  promote  the  enlargement  and  edification 
of  the  Church,  refuse  to  accept  the  office  of 
Ruling  Elder,  when  called  to  it  by  the  voice 
of  his  brethren,  because  he  fears  he  shall  not 
be  able  advantageously  to  discharge  all  the 
duties  which  pertain  to  that  office.     If  he 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  53 

really  desires  to  serve  the  best  interests  of  the 
flock  of  Christ;  if  he  is  unfeignedly  willing  to 
do  all  that  his  situation  in  life  and  his  talents 
enable  him  to  do  for  extending  the  cause  of 
knowledge,  truth  and  holiness  in  the  Church 
to  which  he  belongs;  if,  in  a  word, he  is  will- 
ing to  throw  his  whole  weight  into  the  scale 
of  the  Redeemer's  kingdom,  it  may  be  said, 
in  general,  that  he  ought  not  to  reject  the 
office,  when  the  suffrages  of  his  brethren  in 
the  Lord  lay  it  upon  him. 

And  let  all  the  private  members  of  the 
Church  receive,  on  this  subject,  a  word  of 
exhortation.  Imagine  not.  Christian  friends, 
that,  because  you  are  not  Elders,  you  have, 
therefore,  no  duties  to  perform  concerning 
that  important  class  of  Church  officers.  Your 
duties  in  respect  to  them  are  more  numerous, 
and  more  important  than  you  have,  probably, 
been  accustomed  to  suppose.  The  fact  is, 
that  your  Elders  will  be  likely  to  be  what 
your  estimate  and  your  treatment  of  them 
make  them  to  be.  Good  Elders  will  seldom 
fail  to  be  found  connected  with  a  good  peo- 
ple ;  and  a  good  people  will  commonly  be 
favoured  with  good  Elders.  In  this  con- 
nexion, as  in  all  the  relations  of  life,  from  a 


54  RULING    ELDERS    IN    THE 

family  to  a  nation,  there  is  a  mutual  reaction, 
giving  rise  to  an  influence  of  each  on  the 
other  of  the  most  essential  kind.  When  we 
honour  officers,  then,  whether  ecclesiastical 
or  civil,  and  manifest  that  we  expect  much 
from  them,  they  will  be,  of  course,  more 
likely  to  feel  their  responsibihty,  and  to  strive 
to  fulfil  their  obligations.  Let  me  say,  then, 
not  only  to  every  member  of  the  Church, 
but  also  to  every  member  of  the  congrega- 
tion, to  which  Ruling  Elders  belong,  culti- 
vate an  acquaintance  with  them;  reverence 
them  as  your  spiritual  rulers,  acting  as  really 
under  the  authority  of  Christ  as  your  Pastors. 
Acknowledge  them,  honour  them,  and  take 
pleasure  in  employing  them  in  their  appro- 
priate work.  Encourage  them  to  visit  your 
families ;  to  instruct  and  exhort  your  house- 
holds; and  with  paternal  authority  to  act  the 
part  of  '^  Overseers  of  the  flock."  Obey  them 
in  the  Lord.  "  Esteem  them  very  highly  in 
love  for  their  work's  sake;"  and  follow  them 
daily  with  your  prayers,  that  they  may  be 
enabled  to  perform  all  their  duties  with  fide- 
lity, wisdom  and  zeal ;  and  that  they  may 
be  made  a  rich  blessing  to  yourselves,  your 
households,  and  the  whole  Church  of  God. 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH.  55 

When  they  enter  your  dwelUngs  to  inquire 
into  your  state,  and  to  put  in  God's  claim 
to  yourselves  and  to  your  children,  receive 
them  in  the  name  of  the  Lord.  When  you 
are  sick,  send  for  them.  When  differences 
or  difficulties  of  any  kind  arise,  consult  them, 
and  avail  yourselves  of  their  wisdom  and 
authority  to  compose  and  heal  them.  When 
your  children  are  disorderly  and  unmanage- 
able, avail  yourselves  of  the  wisdom  and 
affectionate  authority  of  the  Eldership, — 
Christ's  own  appointed  agency — to  soften 
and  reclaim  them.  Elders  thus  honoured, 
thus  received,  and  thus  employed,  cannot  fail 
to  be  a  great  blessing  to  the  Church  of  God. 
0  that  multitudes  of  such  Elders  might  be 
raised  up,  and  fill  the  land !    Amen ! 


APPENDIX. 


NOTE  A. 

INTERPRETATION    OF    I.    TIMOTHY    V.    17. 

"Let  the  Elders  that,  rule  well  be  counted 
worthy  of  double  honour,  especially  they  who 
labour  in  the  word  and  doctrine.'^  It  would 
seem  that  every  person  of  plain  common 
sense,  who  had  never  heard  of  any  diversity 
of  opinion  on  the  subject,  would,  without 
hesitation,  conclude,  on  reading  this  passage, 
that,  at  the  period  at  which  it  was  written, 
there  were  two  kinds  of  Elders,  one  whose 
duty  it  was  to  labour  in  the  word  and  doc- 
trine, and  another,  who  did  not  thus  labour, 
but  only  ruled  in  the  Church.  If  we  suppose 
that  there  was  only  one  class  of  Elders  then 
in  the  Church,  and  that  they  were  all  teachers, 
or  labourers  in  the  word  and  doctrine,  we 
make  the  inspired  apostle  speak  in  a  manner 


APPENDIX.  57 

unworthy  of  his  high  character  as  a  reasoner. 
Of  this  mind  was  the  celebrated  Dr.  Wliit- 
aker,  a  zealous  and  learned  Episcopal  divine, 
and  Regius  Professor  of  Divinity  in  the  Uni- 
versity of  Cambridge,  of  whom  Bishop  Hall 
remarks,  that  "no  man  ever  saw  him  without 
reverence,  or  heard  him  without  wonder." 
He  speaks  of  this  passage  in  the  following 
strong  language :  "  By  these  words  the 
Apostle  evidently  distinguishes  between  the 
bishops  and  the  inspectors  of  the  Church. 
If  all  who  rule  well  be  worthy  of  double 
honour,  especially  those  who  labour  in  the 
word  and  doctrine,  it  is  plain  that  there  were 
some  who  did  not  so  labour :  for  if  all  had 
been  of  this  description,  the  meaning  would 
have  been  absurd ;  but  the  word  especially 
points  out  a  difference.  If  1  should  say,  that 
all  who  study  well  at  the  University  are 
worthy  of  double  honour,  especially  they 
who  labour  in  the  study  of  theology,  I  must 
either  mean  that  all  do  not  apply  themselves 
to  the  study  of  theology,  or  I  should  speak 
nonsense.  Wherefore  I  confess  that  to  be 
the  most  genuine  sense,  by  which  Pastors 
and  Teachers  are  distinguished  from  those 
who   only   governed.     Romans  xii.  8.     Of 


58  APPENDIX. 

this  class  of  Elders  Ambrose  speaks,  in  his 
Commentary  on  1  Timothy  v.  1."* 

Equally  to  our  purpose  is  the  judgment  of 
that  acute  and  learned  Episcopal  divine,  Dr. 
Whitby,  in  his  commentary  on  this  passage. 
"  The  Elders  of  the  Jews,"  says  he,  "  were 
of  two  sorts;  first,  such  as  governed  in  the 
synagogue;  and  secondly,  such  as  ministered 
in  reading  and  expounding  the  Scriptures  and 
traditions,  and  from  them  pronouncing  what 
did  bind  or  loose,  or  what  was  forbidden, 
and  what  was  lawful  to  be  done.  These 
latter  the  Apostle  here  declares  to  be  the 
most  honourable,  and  worthy  of  the  chiefest 
reward.  Accordingly  the  Apostle,  reckoning 
up  the  officers  God  had  appohited  in  the 
Church,  places  teachers  before  governments." 
1  Corinthians  xii.  28. 

A  number  of  glosses  have  been  resorted  to 
for  setting  aside  the  testimony  of  this  cogent 
text  in  favour  of  Ruling  Elders.  To  enu- 
merate them  all,  and  show  their  invalidity, 
would  exceed  the  limits  to  which  this  little 
manual  is  confined.    A  few  of  the  most  plan- 

*  Prfelectiones,  as  quoted  in  Calderwood's  Altare  Da- 
mascenuni,  p.  681. 


APPENDIX.  59 

sible  and  popular  may  be  deemed  worthy  of 
notice. 

(1.)  Some,  for  example,  have  said,  that  by 
the  Elders  that  rule  well,  in  this  passage,  civil 
magistrates  are  intended;  while,  by  those  who 
labour  in  the  word  and  doctrine,  ministers  of 
the  Gospel  are  pointed  out.  But  it  will  occur 
to  every  reflecting  reader,  that,  at  the  time 
when  the  passage  of  Scripture  was  addressed 
to  Timothy,  and  for  several  centuries  after- 
wards, there  were  no  Christian  magistrates 
in  the  Church;  and  to  suppose  that  the 
Church  is  exhorted  to  choose  heathen  judges 
or  magistrates,  to  compose  difl'erences  and 
maintain  order  among  the  followers  of  Christ, 
is  in  the  highest  degree  improbable,  not  to  say 
altogether  absurd. 

(2.)  Others  have  alleged  that,  by  the  El- 
ders that  rule  well,  are  meant  Deacons.  It  is 
enough  to  reply  to  this  suggestion,  that  it  has 
never  been  shown,  nor  can  be  shown,  that 
Deacons  are  any  where  in  the  New  Testa- 
ment distinguished  by  the  title  of  Elders; 
and,  further,  that  the  function  of  ruling  is 
nowhere  represented  as  belonging  to  that 
office.  The  Deacons  were  appointed  to  take 
care  of  aged  and  destitute  widows,  and  to 


60  APPENDIX. 

"serve  tables,"  (Acts  vi.  2,  3,)  but  not  to  act 
as  rulers  in  the  house  of  God. 

(3.)  A  third  class  of  objectors  contend  that 
the  word  ^axtcrfa,  which  our  translators  have 
rendered  especially,  ought  to  be  translated 
much; — that  it  is  not  to  be  considered  as 
distinguishing  one  class  of  Elders  from  an- 
other, but  as  marking  intensity  of  degree  ;  in 
other  words,  that  it  is  meant  to  be  exegetical 
of  those  who  labour  much,  or  with  peculiar 
diUgence  in  the  word  and  doctrine.     On  this 
plan,  the  verse  in  question  would  read  thus: 
"  Let  the  Elders  who  rule  well,"  that  is,  who 
labour  much,  or  with  jjecidiar  diligence  in 
the  word  and  doctrine,  "  be  counted  worthy 
of  double  honour."     If  this  were  adopted  as 
the  meaning  of  the   passage,  it   would   go 
to  show  that  it  is  for  preaching  chiefly,  and 
not  for  ruUng  well,  that  Elders  are  entitled  to 
high  honour.    But  is  it  rational,  or  consistent 
either  with  the  context,  or  with  other  parts 
of  Scripture,  to  adopt  this  construction  ?  It  is 
also  contended,  by  excellent  Greek  critics, 
that  the  structure  of  the  original  will   not, 
without  great  violence,  bear  this  interpreta- 
tion.    It  is  not  said  ot  fxa'kia'ta  xortiuvts?,  as 
would  have  been  the  proper  order  of  the 


APPENDIX.  61 

words,  if  such  had  been  the  meaning  intend- 
ed to  be  conveyed;  but  fjiau^ta  60  xoTticovm', 
not  those  who  labour  with  especial  diligence 
and  exertion,  but  especially  those  who  la- 
bour, &:c.  But  the  most  decisive  considera- 
tion is,  that  not  a  single  case  can  be  found 
in  the  New  Testament  in  which  the  word 
jua^tjt-a  has  the  signification  here  attributed 
to  it.  It  is  so  generally  used  to  distinguish 
one  class  of  objects  from  another,  that  we 
may  safely  venture  to  say,  that  it  cannot 
possibly  have  a  different  meaning  in  the  pas- 
sage before  us.  A  few  decisive  examples 
will  be  sufficient  to  establish  the  point.  In  the 
same  chapter  from  which  the  passage  under 
consideration  is  taken  (I  Tim.  v.  8)  it  is  said, 
"  If  any  man  provide  not  for  his  own,  and 
especially  (fiaXtsta)  for  those  of  his  own  house, 
he  hath  denied  the  faith,  &c."  Again  ;  Gala- 
tians  vi.  10  :  "  Let  us  do  good  unto  all  men, 
but  especially  {fta%iata)  to  them  who  are  of 
the  household  of  faith.^^  Again ;  Philip,  iv.  22. 
"  All  the  saints  salute  you ;  chiefly  (^axccrr'a) 
they  of  Caesar's  household,''  Thus,  also, 
2  Tim.  iv.  1 3 :  "When  thou  comest, bring  with 
thee  the  books,  but  especially  (fia-Ktata)  the 
parchments."  Further;  1  Tim.  iv.  10:  "Who 


62  APPENDIX. 

is  the  Saviour  of  all  men,  especially  {ixau^ta) 
of  those  who  believe."  Again  ;  Titus  i.  10  : 
"  For  there  are  many  unruly  and  vain  talkers, 
especially  (na-Kiata)  they  of  the  circumcision." 
Now  in  all  these  cases,  there  are  two  classes 
of  objects  intended  to  be  distinguished  from 
each  other.  Some  of  the  saints  were  of 
Caesar's  household ;  others  were  not.  Good 
was  to  be  done  to  all  men ;  but  especially  to 
believers.  There  were  many  unruly  and  vain 
talkers  alluded  to  ;  but  they  were  not  all  of 
the  circumcision  ;  and  so  of  the  rest. 

(4.)  A  fourth  class  of  objectors  to  our  con- 
struction of  this  passage,  are  certain  prelatists, 
who  allege,  that  by  the  Elders  that  rule  well, 
the  Apostle  intends  to  designate  superan- 
nuated Bishops,  who,  though  too  old  to  la- 
bour in  the  word  and  doctrine,  were  still  able 
to  assist  in  ruling.  To  this  it  is  suflicient  to 
reply,  that  whether  we  understand  the  "  hon- 
our" (ttfiTji)  to  which  the  Apostle  here  refers, 
as  intended  to  designate  pecuniary  support, 
or  rank  and  dignity,  it  would  seem  contrary 
to  every  principle,  both  of  reason  and  Scrip- 
ture, that  younger  and  more  vigorous  la- 
bourers "  in  the  word  and  doctrine"  should 
have  a  portion  of  this  honour  awarded  to 


APPENDIX.  63 

them  superior  to  that  which  is  yielded  to 
those  who  have  been  long  engaged  and  worn 
out  in  the  same  kind  of  service.  These  aged, 
venerable,  and  exhausted  dignitaries,  accord- 
ing to  this  construction,  are  to  be,  indeed, 
much  honoured,  but  less  than  their  junior 
brethren,  whose  strength  for  labour  still  con- 
tinues.    Can  this  be  admitted  ? 

(5.)  Once  more,  it  is  objected,  by  some, 
that  the  Elders  mentioned  in  this  passage, 
who  rule  well,  do  not  refer  to  ecclesiastical 
officers  at  all,  but  to  aged  men ;  and  that  the 
Apostle  means  to  enjoin  simply  the  paying 
of  due  honour  to  old  men — aged  male  mem- 
bers of  the  Church — as  he  had  before  done 
with  regard  to  widows.  This  subterfuge  is 
so  palpably  unreasonable,  that  it  has  been 
resorted  to  by  very  few ;  and  will  not  bear 
the  slightest  examination.  Nothing  can  be 
plainer  than  that  the  word  here  translated 
Elder  is  used  a  multitude  of  times  in  the 
New  Testament  to  designate  an  ecclesiastical 
office.  The  following  Scriptures,  among 
many  others,  render  this  fact  too  plain  to  be 
doubted  for  a  moment :  Acts  xi.  30 ;  xv.  4,  6, 
23;  xvi.  4;  xx.  17.  Titus  i.  5.  James  v.  14. 
1  Peter  v.  1.      The  Elders  here  spoken  of 


64  APPENDIX. 

are  represented  as  ruling  in  the  Church ;  but 
are  all  old  men  in  the  Church  rulers;  or  only 
some  of  them,  elected  and  set  apart  for  that 
purpose  ?  The  former  will  not  be  pretended. 
The  latter  will  conduct  us  to  the  very  princi- 
ple of  interpretation  for  which  we  contend. 
Besides,  if  the  word  Elder  in  the  first  clause 
of  the  verse  in  question  means  simply  old 
men,  without  any  reference  to  office,  it  will, 
of  course,  be  considered  as  meaning  the  same 
in  the  latter  clause;  and  then  we  shall  find 
the  Apostle  speaking  of  old  men  "  labouring 
in  the  word  and  doctrine,"  that  is,  preaching 
without  bearing  any  ecclesiastical  office. 
Either,  then,  we  shall  find  in  this  passage,  a 
warrant  for  lay-preaching  on  the  part  of  old 
men;  or  be  driven  to  the  conclusion,  that  the 
word  Elder  is  here  used,  not  to  designate 
mere  age,  but  in  an  official  sense,  and,  of 
course,  that  there  were  two  sorts  of  Elders  in 
the  Church  when  the  Apostle  wrote,  the 
conclusion  to  which  we  desire  to  come. 

A  late  writer  has  attempted,  with  much 
confidence  of  assertion,  to  maintain,  that,  in 
the  early  Church,  Presbyter  and  Preacher 
were  not  interchangeable  terms ;  that  no 
Presbyters,  as  such,  were  entitled  to  preach, 


APPENDIX.  65 

and  no  preachers,  as  such,  entitled,  as  Pres- 
byters, to  bear  rule ;  in  short,  that  the  Elder- 
ship, as  such,  never  included  teaching;  that 
this  was  always  a  super-added  function ;  and 
that  it  was  not,  in  any  case  in  consequence 
of  his  Presbyterial  character  that  an  Elder 
preached.*     And   such,  this  Avriter  assures 
us,  is   the   doctrine    taught    by  Owen   and 
Calvin,  with  a  number  of  others,  whom  he 
names.      This  is  an  utter  misrepresentation, 
which,   though   doubtless    unintentional,  is 
not  the  less  delusive  and  mischievous.    Both 
these  venerable  men  taught  that,  in  the  pri- 
mitive Church,  every  worshipping  assembly 
had  a  bench  of  officers  called  Elders,  or  Pres- 
byters; that  of  these  Elders  there  were  two 
distinct  classes;  that  a  part  of  them  only  pub- 
licly taught,  or  preached;  but  that  they  all 
bore  rule;  that  the  former,  in  virtue  of  their 
office,  "laboured  in  the  word  and  doctrine;" 
that  it  was  equally  in  virtue  of  their  office  as 
Presbyters  that  all  bore  rule ;  and  that  those 
who,  in  virtue  of  their  office,  "  laboured  in 
the  word  and  doctrine,"  though  on  a  level 
with  their  colleagues  as  to  the  point  of  ruling, 

*  "Spirit  of  the  Ninclccuth  Century,"  for  1843,  p.  621. 

6 


66  APPENDIX. 

were  invested  with  a  higher  function,  and 
bore  a  superior  office.  In  short,  according  to 
these  venerable  writers,  the  whole  bench 
equally  bore  the  name  and  the  authority  of 
Elders  or  Presbyters,  and  it  was  as  Elders, 
that  a  part  of  them  preached.  That  they 
thus  taught,  would  seem  to  be  plain  beyond 
controversy  or  question.  How  they  should 
have  been  so  entirely  misapprehended  is  in- 
deed unaccountable. 


NOTE  B. 

TESTIMONY    OF    AMBROSE. 

This  very  unequivocal  and  decisive  state- 
ment of  Ambrose  has  been  most  unreasonably 
tortured  in  a  variety  of  ways.  The  great  body 
of  Prelatists,  as  well  as  some  others,  have  la- 
boured hard  to  divest  it  of  its  plain  and  point- 
ed testimony  in  favour  of  the  office  of  RuHng 
Elder.  They  insist  upon  it  that  the  pious 
father  had  no  respect  whatever  to  ecclesiasti- 
cal officers,  but  only  to  aged  persons:  and 
that  he  meant  to  say  nothing  more  than  that, 
formerly,  in  the  Synagogue,  and  afterwards 
in  the  Church,  there  were  old  men,  whom  it 


APPENDIX.  67 

was  customary  to  consult;  which  practice, 
however,  at  the  time  in  which  he  wrote,  was 
generally  laid  aside.  This  perversion  of  an 
obvious  meaning  is  really  so  strange  and 
extravagant,  that  the  formality  of  a  serious 
refutation  seems  scarcely  necessary.  Can 
any  reflecting  man  believe  that  Ambrose  de- 
signed only  to  inform  his  readers  that  in  the 
Jewish  Synagogue  there  were  actually  per- 
sons who  had  attained  a  considerable  age; 
that  this  was  also  afterwards  the  case  in  the 
Christian  Church;  and  that  these  aged  per- 
sons were  generally  consulted?  This  would 
have  been  a  sage  remark  indeed !  Was  there 
ever  a  community  of  any  extent,  either  eccle- 
siastical or  civil,  which  did  not  include  some 
aged  persons?  Or  was  there  ever  a  state  of 
society,  or  an  age  of  the  world,  in  which  the 
practice  of  consulting  the  aged  and  experi- 
enced had  fallen  into  disuse?  That  thinking, 
candid  minds,  should  be  able  to  satisfy  them- 
selves with  such  a  gloss,  is  truly  wonderful. 
It  is  certainly  no  argument  in  favour  of  this 
construction  of  the  language  of  Ambrose, 
that  he  prefaces  his  statement  respecting  the 
Synagogue  and  the  Church,  by  remarking, 
that  among  all  nations  old  age  is  honourable. 


68  APPENDIX. 

Surely  no  remark  could  be  more  natural  or 
appropriate,  when  he  was  about  to  state, 
that  from  the  earliest  period  of  the  Christian 
Church,  and  long  before  in  the  Synagogue, 
all  their  affairs  had  been  managed  by  colleges 
of  Elders,  (a  title  importing  a  kind  of  homage 
to  age  and  experience,)  without  whose  coun- 
sel nothing  was  done. 

But  there  is  a  clause  in  this  extract  from 
Ambrose,  which  precludes  all  doubt  that  he 
intended  to  allude  to  a  class  of  Church  offi- 
cers, and  not  merely  to  old  age.  It  is  this : — 
"Which  by  what  negligence  it  grew  into  dis- 
use, I  know  not,  unless,  perhaps,  by  tlie  sloth, 
or  rather  by  the  pride  of  the  Teachers,  who 
alone  wished  to  appear  something."  It  is 
very  conceivable  and  obvious  that  both  the 
pride  and  the  sloth  of  the  Teachers,  that  is  the 
Teachhig  Elders,  should  render  them  willing 
to  get  rid  of  a  bench  of  officers  of  equal  power 
with  themselves  as  rulers  in  the  Church,  and, 
consequently,  able  to  control  their  wishes  in 
cases  of  discipline.  But  it  cannot  easily  be 
conceived  why  either  sloth  or  pride  should 
render  any  so  particularly  averse  to  all  con- 
sultation with  the  aged  and  experienced,  in 
preference  to  the  young,  on  the  affairs  of  the 


APPENDIX.  69 

Church;  especially  if  those  aged  persons 
bore  no  office,  and  there  was,  of  course,  no 
official  obligation  to  be  governed  by  their 
advice,  as  the  gloss  under  consideration  sup- 
poses. It  being  evident,  then,  that  a  class  of 
officers  was  here  intended,  the  question  arises, 
what  class  of  Presbyters  or  Elders  was  that 
which  had  grown  into  disuse  in  the  fourth 
century?  Not  Teaching  Presbyters,  surely; 
for  every  one  knows  that  that  class  of  Pres- 
byters had  not  become  obsolete,  or  even 
diminished  in  number,  in  Ambrose's  time. 
His  own  writings  amply  attest  the  reverse. 
And  every  one  also  knows  that  this  class  of 
Church  officers  has  never  been  laid  aside,  or 
become  less  numerous  even  to  the  present 
day. 

It  is  also  worthy  of  particular  notice  here, 
as  a  confirmation  of  the  construction  which 
we  put  upon  the  language  of  Ambrose,  that 
all  of  the  most  learned  and  able  of  the  Re- 
formers, and  a  great  number  of  others,  the 
most  competent  judges  in  such  matters,  from 
the  Reformation  to  the  present  time,  have 
concurred  in  adopting  the  same  construction, 
and  have  considered  the  venerable  father  as 
referring  to  a  class  of  Elders  who  held  the 


70  APPENDIX. 

place  of  Rulers  and  Inspectors.  Learned 
Lutherans  and  Episcopalians,  as  well  as  Cal- 
vinists,  almost  without  number,  have  united 
in  the  interpretation  of  this  father,  which  we 
have  given,  with  a  degree  of  unanimity  truly 
remarkable.  Is  it  not  quite  as  likely  that 
Luther,  and  Melancthon,  and  Bucer,  and 
Whitgift,  and  Zanchius,  and  Peter  Martyr, 
who  had  no  sectarian  or  private  views  to 
serve  in  regard  to  this  point,  should  be  able 
correctly  to  read  and  understand  Ambrose,  as 
that  moderns,  of  far  less  learning,  and  filled 
with  the  strongest  prejudices  against  his  real 
obvious  meaning,  should  be  betrayed  into  an 
erroneous  interpretation  ?  Yet  nothing  is 
more  certain  than  that  those  truly  learned 
and  venerable  men  whose  names  have  been 
mentioned,  and  many  more  of  similar  charac- 
ter, have,  with  one  voice,  concurred  in  inter- 
preting Ambrose  as  we  have  done,  and  in 
citing  him  as  a  decisive  witness  in  favour  of 
the  office  of  the  Ruling  Elder. 


APPENDIX.  71 

NOTE  C. 

TESTIMONY    OF    THE   RETORMERS. 

I  have  said  that  the  great  body  of  the  Re„ 
formers  recognized  the  scriptural  authority  of 
this  office,  and  either  actually  introduced  it 
into  their  churches,  or  lamented  the  want  of 
it.  This  is  so  well  known  to  have  been  the 
case  with  all  the  leaders  of  the  Reformed 
Churches  on  the  Continent  of  Europe,  and 
with  almost  all  those  of  the  Lutheran  de- 
nomination, that  no  attempt  to  establish  the 
fact  is  necessary  here.  The  proof  is  exhibit- 
ed in  my  larger  work  on  the  Ruling  Elder's 
office.  Even  the  leading  Reformers  of  the 
Church  of  England  formed  no  exception  to 
this  general  statement.  Both  in  their  writings 
and  in  their  acts,  we  find  the  plainest  traces 
of  their  convictions,  and  of  then-  desires  in 
favour  of  the  restoration  of  this  office. 

John  A'Lasco,  a  Polish  nobleman,  and 
pious  divine,  who  presided  over  a  large  body 
of  Protestants  in  the  city  of  London,  in  the 
sixteenth  century,  and  introduced  among 
them  the  system  of  Ruling  Elders  and  Dea- 
cons, according  to  the  Presbyterian  plan,  ex- 


/2  APPENDIX. 

plicitly  declares,  not  only  that  King  Edward 
VI.  and  Archbishop  Cranmer  patronized  and 
approved  what  he  had  done  ;  but  that  they 
expressed  an  ardent  desire  that  his  plan  for 
maintaining  discipline  should  be  introduced 
into  the  national  Church.*  In  fact,  there  is 
evidence,  that  Cranmer,  and  the  rest  of  the 
Commissioners  in  Edward's  reign,  did  di- 
rectly propose  the  introduction  of  Ruling  El- 
ders into  the  Church  of  England.  They 
drew  up  a  body  of  laws,  which,  though  not 
finally  ratified,  partly  on  account  of  opposing 
influence,  and  partly  from  the  premature  de- 
cease of  the  monarch,  yet  clearly  show  the 
opinion  and  the  wishes  of  Cranmer  and  his 
associates.  One  of  the  proposed  laws  is  as 
follows: — "After  evening  prayer,  on  which 
all  shall  attend  in  their  own  parish  churches, 
the  principal  minister  or  Parson  and  the  Dea- 
con, if  they  are  present ;  or,  in  case  of  their 
absence,  the  Curate  and  the  Elders  shall  con- 

*  McCrie's  Life  of  Knox,  vol.  i.  p.  392-396.  Gisberti 
Voctii  Politicas  Ecclesiasticae.  Tom.  i.  420-422.  Forma 
et  Ratio  totius  Ecclesiaslici  ministerii  Edvardi  Sexti  in 
Peregrinorum  maxime  Germanorum  Eccles.  Also,  De  Or- 
dinatione  Ecclesiarum  Peregrinarum  in  Anglia.  Epist. 
Dedicat.  et  p.  649, 


APPENDIX.  73 

sider  how  the  money  given  for  pious  uses 
shall  be  laid  out ;  and  then  let  discipline  be 
exercised.  For  those  whose  sin  has  been 
public,  and  given  offence  to  the  whole  church, 
should  be  brought  to  a  sense  of  it,  and  pub- 
licly undergo  the  punishment  of  it,  that  so 
the  church  may  be  the  better  for  their  correc- 
tion. After  that,  the  minister  shall  withdraw, 
with  some  of  the  Elders,  and  consult  how  all 
other  persons  who  are  disorderly  in  their  life 
and  conversation,  may  be  conversed  with ; 
first  by  some  sober  and  good  men,  in  a 
brotherly  manner,  according  to  the  direction 
of  Christ  in  the  Gospel ;  and  if  they  hearken 
to  their  advice,  God  is  to  be  praised  for  it; 
but  if  they  go  on  in  their  wickedness,  they 
are  to  be  restrained  by  that  severe  punish- 
ment which  is  in  the  Gospel  prescribed  for 
such  obstinacy.^'* 

There  is  another  testimony  on  this  subject 
from  one  of  the  most  conspicuous  and  active 
friends  of  the  Reformation  in  England,  which 
is  worthy  of  particular  notice.  It  is  that  of 
the  Rev.  Dean  No  well,  who  flourished  in  the 

*  Pcirce*s  Vindication  of  the  Dissenters  p.  23.  Refor- 
matio Legum  Ecclesiasticarum,  ex  authoritate  Regis  Hen. 
VIII.  et  Edwar.  VI.4to.  1640. 

7 


74  APPENDIX. 

Teign  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  and  whose  cele- 
brated Catechism,  drawn  up  in  1562,  obtain- 
ed, perhaps,  as  much  currency  and  respect 
as  any  publication  of  that  period.  Nor  are 
we  to  consider  this  Catechism  as  expressing 
the  opinions  of  the  illustrious  divine  whose 
name  it  bears,  alone  ;  for  it  was  unanimous- 
ly approved  and  sanctioned  by  the  same 
Lower  House  of  Convocation  which  passed 
the  thirty-nine  Articles  of  the  Church  of  Eng- 
land, and  directed  to  be  published  and  used 
as  containing  the  true  doctrine  of  that  church. 
In  that  Catechism,  toward  the  close,  when 
speaking  of  the  evils  of  retaining  unworthy 
members  in  the  church,  the  following  ques- 
tions and  answers  occur : 

"  Q'  What  remedy  for  this  evil  can  be  de- 
vised and  applied  ? 

" ./?.  In  churches  well  constituted  and  gov- 
erned, there  was,  as  I  before  said,  a  certain 
plan  and  order  of  government  appointed  and 
observed.  Elders  ( Seniores)  were  chosen,  that 
is,  ecclesiastical  rulers,  who  conducted  and 
maintained  the  discipline  of  the  ^church.  To 
these  pertained  authority,  reproof,  and  chas- 
tisement ;  and  they,  with  the  'Concurrence  of 
4he  Pastor,  if  they  knew  any  who,  by  false 


APPENDIX.  75 

Opinions,  troublesome  errors,  foolish  supersti- 
tions, or  vicious  and  profligate  lives,  were 
likely  to  bring  a  great  public  scandal  on  the 
Church  of  God,  and  who  could  not  approach 
the  Lord's  Supper  without  a  manifest  profa- 
nation, repelled  them  from  the  communion, 
and  no  more  admitted  them  until,  by  public 
penitence,they  gave  satisfaction  to  the  church. 

"  Q.  What  is  to  be  done  ?''  (When  those 
who  have  been  excluded  from  the  Church 
repent,  and  desire  to  be  restored  to  its  com- 
munion.) 

"  t^.  That  they  may  be  received  again  into 
the  Church,  and  to  the  enjoyment  of  its  holy 
mysteries,  from  which  they  have  been  de- 
servedly cast  out,  they  ought  humbly  to  sup- 
plicate and  pray ;  and,  on  the  whole,  there 
ought  to  be  such  moderation  used  in  admin- 
istering public  penance,  that  neither,  by  too 
much  severity  the  oifender  may  be  reduced 
to  despondency,  nor,  by  too  much  lenity,  the 
discipline  of  the  Church  relaxed,  its  authority 
diminished,  and  others  encouraged  and  in- 
cited to  similar  ofl"ences.  But  when,  in  the 
judgment  of  the  Elders  and  the  Pastor,  proper 
satisfaction  shall  be  made, by  the  chastisement 
of  the  off'ender,  for  an  example  to  others,  he 


76  APPENDIX. 

may  be  admitted  again  to  the  commvmian  of 
the  Church.''* 

To  the  same  effect  is  the  testimony  of  Arch- 
bishop Whitgift,  a  well  known  champion  of 
Episcopacy,  and  a  warm  advocate  of  the  Re- 
formation, in  the  reign  of  Queen  Elizabeth. 
"I  know,"  says  that  eminent  man,  "that  in 
the  primitive  Church  they  had,  in  every 
church,  certain  Seniors,  to  whom  the  govern- 
ment of  the  cougregation  was  committed; 
but  that  was  before  there  was  any  Christian 
prince  or  magistrate  that  openly  professed  the 
Gospel,  and  before  there  was  any  church  by 
public  authority  established."  And  again, 
he  says,  "  Both  the  name  and  office  of  Seniors 
were  extinguished  before  Ambrose's  time,  as 
he  himself  doth  testify,  writing  upon  1  Tim- 
othy V.  1.  Indeed,  as  Ambrose  saith,  the 
synagogue,  and  afterwards  the  Church,  had 
Seniors,  without  whose  counsel  nothing  was 
done  in  the  Church  ;  but  that  was  before  his 
time,  and  before  there  was  any  Christian 
magistrate,  or  any  Church  established."t 

The    learned   and    acute   Archbishop,   it 

*  See  Bishop  Randolph's  Enchiridion  Theologicum,voL 
i.  326,  327,  3d  edition. 

t  Defence  against  Cartwright,  p.  638,  651. 


APPENDIX.  77 

seems,  was  not  only  convinced  that  there 
were  Ruling  Elders,  distinct  from  Preaching 
Elders,  in  the  primitive  Church;  but,  with 
all  his  erudition  and  discernment,  and,  it  may 
be  added,  with  all  his  Episcopal  prejudices, 
he  understood  Ambrose  just  as  the  friends 
of  this  class  of  officers  now  understand  him. 
Perhaps  it  will  be  asked,  why,  if  these 
views  of  the  Ruling  Elder's  office  prevailed 
among  the  most  enlightened  and  pious  of  the 
Reformers  in  England,  why  was  not  that 
class  of  officers  adopted  and  incorporated 
with  the  English  establishment?  This  ques- 
tion is  solved  by  the  statements  of  Bishop 
Burnet,  in  his  "  History  of  the  Reformation." 
He  informs  us  that  "many  learned  and  pious 
divines,  in  the  beginning  of  Queen  Eliza- 
beth's reign,  had  observed  the  new  models 
set  up  in  Geneva  and  other  places,  for  the 
censuring  of  scandalous  persons,  by  mixed 
judicatories  of  ministers  and  laity;  and  these, 
reflecting  on  the  great  looseness  of  life  which 
had  been  universally  complained  of  in  King 
Edward's  time,  thought  such  a  platform 
might  be  an  effectual  way  for  keeping  out 
a  return  of  the  like  disorders.  But  certain 
wise  politicians  of  that  age  demonstrated  to 


78  APPENDIX. 

the  Queen  that  these  models  would  certainly 
bring  with  them  a  great  abatement  of  her 
prerogative;  since,  if  the  concerns  of  religion 
came  into  popular  hands,  there  would  be  a 
power  set  up  distinct  from  hers,  over  which 
she  could  have  no  authority."* 

But,  though  the  leaders  of  the  Reformation 
in  England  declined  to  adopt  this  feature  of 
the  Presbyterian  system,  evidently  from  se- 
cular policy,  and  not  because  they  doubted 
its  conformity  to  the  primitive  model ;  yet  the 
following  is  a  specimen  of  the  manner  in 
which  some  of  her  most  learned  and  pious 
divines  speak  of  the  office  under  considera- 
tion. 

The  Rev.  Dr.  John  Edwards,  a  divine  of 
that  Church,  and  acknowledged  by  all  as  a 
man  of  distinguished  learning  and  piety,  thus 
speaks  of  the  office  in  question : 

"  This  office  of  the  Ruling  Elder  is  accord- 
ing-  to  the  practice  of  the  Church  of  God 
among  the  Jews,  his  own  people.  It  is  cer- 
tain that  there  was  this  kind  of  Elders,  under 
that  economy.     There   were  two   sorts   of 

*  Burnet's  History  of  the  Reformation,  preface  to  the 
second  volume  of  Nares'  edition,  p.  24,  25. 


APPENDIX.  79 

Elders  among  the  Jews — the  RuUng  ones, 
who  governed  in  their  assembUes  and  Syna- 
gogues, and  the  Teaching  ones,  who  read  and 
expounded  the  Scriptures.  Accordingly,  Dr. 
Lightfoot,  in  his  Harmony  of  the  New  Tes- 
tament, inclines  to  interpret  1  Timothy  v.  17, 
of  the  Elders  in  the  Christian  congregations, 
who  answer  to  the  Lay -Elders  in  the  Jewish 
Synagogue.  For  this  learned  writer,  who 
was  well  versed  in  the  Jewish  customs  and 
practices,  tells  us,  that  in  every  Synagogue 
among  the  Jews,  there  were  Elders  that 
ruled  chiefly  in  the  aff"airs  of  the  Synagogue, 
and  other  Elders,  that  laboured  in  the  word 
and  doctrine."  "  And  so  it  was  in  the  Chris- 
tian Church ;  there  was  a  mixture  of  Clergy 
and  Laity  in  their  consults  about  Church 
matters,  as  we  see  frequently  in  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles.  The  Christian  Church  retained 
this  usage,  for  which  they  quote  St.  Augus- 
tine's 137th  Epistle,  where  he  mentions  the 
Clergy  and  the  Elders,  and  the  people.  So 
in  his  third  book  against  Cresconius,  he  men- 
tions Deacons  and  Seniors,  that  is  Lay-Elders, 
for  he  distinguishes  them  from  other  Presby- 
ters. One  of  his  Epistles  to  his  Church  in 
Hippo  is  thus  superscribed  :  ^  To  the  Clergy 


80  APPENDIX. 

and  the  Eiders.'  See  chapter  56th,  in  the 
fore-named  book  against  Cresconius,  where 
he  mentions  Peregrinus,  the  Presbyter,  and 
the  Elders  (Seniores.)*  And  nothing  can  be 
plainer  than  that  of  St.  Ambrose—'  Both  the 
Synagogue  and  afterwards  the  Church,  had 
their  Elders,  without  whose  counsel  nothing 
was  done  in  the  Church,  &c.'  Further,  we 
read  of  these  Seniors  in  the  writings  of  Op- 
tatus,  p.  41,  and  in  the  Epistles  annexed  to 
him,  which  the  reader  may  consult.  Thus 
it  appears  that  this  was  an  ancient  office  in 
the  Church,  and  not  invented  by  Calvin,  as 
some  have  thought  and  writ.^t 

"  And  then,  as  to  the  reason  of  the  thing, 

*  It  will  not  escape  the  notice  of  the  discerning  reader 
that  these  testimonies  from  Augustine,  Ambrose,  and  Op- 
tatus,  which  some  have  ventured,  very  unceremoniously, 
to  treat  with  contempt,  when  brought  forward  on  this 
subject,  are  regarded  by  this  very  learned  Episcopalian, 
as  evidence  of  the  most  conclusive  character. 

t  The  old  and  hackneyed  allegation,  which  has  been 
the  theme  of  high-toned  Episcopalians  for  more  than  two 
hundred  years,  that  Calvin  invented  and  first  introduced 
Ruling  Elders,  it  will  be  observed  is  confidently  rejected 
by  this  truly  learned  Episcopal  Divine,  who,  from  his 
ecclesiastical  connexion,  cannot  be  supposed  to  have  had 
any  other  inducement  to  adopt  the  opinion  which  he  has 
expressed,  than  his  love  of  truth. 


APPENDIX.  81 

there  should  be  no  ground  of  quarrelling 
with  this  office  in  the  Church,  seeing  it  is  so 
useful.  It  was  instituted  for  the  ease  of  the 
preaching  Elders,  that  they  might  not  be  over- 
burdened with  business,  and  that  they  might 
more  conveniently  apply  themselves  to  that 
employment  which  is  purely  ecclesiastical 
and  spiritual.  Truly  if  there  was  no  such 
office  mentioned  in  the  Scripture,  we  might 
reasonably  wish  for  such  a  one,  it  being  so 
useful  and  serviceable  to  the  great  purposes 
of  religion.  What  can  be  more  desirable 
than  that  there  should  be  one  or  more  ap- 
pointed to  observe  the  conversation  of  the 
flock,  in  order  to  the  exercising  of  discipline? 
The  Pastor  himself  cannot  be  supposed  to 
have  an  eye  on  every  one  of  his  charge  ;  and, 
therefore,  it  is  fitting  that,  out  of  those  who 
are  fellow-members,  and  daily  converse  with 
one  another,  and,  therefore,  are  capable  of 
acquainting  themselves  with  their  manners 
and  behaviour,  there  should  be  chosen  these 
Elders  I  am  speaking  of,  to  inspect  the 
carriage  and  deportment  of  the  flock."* 

*  Theologia  Reformata,  vol  i.  p.  526,  528. 


82  APPENDIX. 

NOTE  D. 

DIVINE   RIGHT   OF   CHURCH   GOVERNMENT. 

Some  persons  have  hesitated  to  adopt  the 
opinion  that  any  particular  form  of  church 
government  was  appointed  of  God,  and 
ought  now  to  be  maintained,  lest  it  should 
involve  them  in  the  necessity  of  pronouncing 
that  all  denominations  of  Christians  who 
adopt  any  other  form,  are  no  part  of  the  true 
Church  of  God,  and  are  to  be  considered  as 
out  of  the  covenant  of  grace. 

This  alleged  difficulty,  when  properly  un- 
derstood, will  be  found  merely  ideal.  The 
opinion,  when  regarded  as  it  may  be,  and 
ought  to  be,  is  chargeable  with  no  such  con- 
sequence. 

By  the  jus  divinum,  or  divine  right  of 
Church  government,  is  meant,  the  doctrine, 
that  a  particular  form  of  ecclesiastical  polity 
is  appointed  of  God ; — in  other  words,  rests 
on  the  ground  of  divine  authority.  This 
doctrine  is  held  by  different  individuals  and 
denominations  with  different  degrees  of  ri- 
gour, and  in  a  variety  of  forms.  A  brief 
sketch  of  these  forms  will  serve,  it  is  hoped^ 


APPENDIX.  83 

to  disentangle  the  subject  from  the  perplexity 
in  which  some  have  involved  it. 

(1.)  The  most  rigorous  form  of  the  divine 
right  of  Church  government,  is  that  which  is 
held  by  Papists.  They  assert  confidently, 
and  with  one  voice,  that  the  primacy  of  the 
Bishop  of  Rome  over  the  whole  Christian 
Church  is  made  by  divine  appointment,  es- 
sential to  the  very  existence  of  the  Church : 
that  while  Christ  is  the  Supreme  King  and 
Head  of  the  Church  in  heaven,  He  has  ap- 
pointed the  Pope  as  his  sole  vicar  and  repre- 
sentative on  earth:  that  the  Church,  with 
the  Pope  at  her  head,  is  vested  with  power 
infallibly  to  speak  in  the  name  of  Christ,  and 
to  declare  his  will :  and  that  those  who  are 
not  in  communion  with  the  Pope,  are  not 
members  of  the  Church,  in  any  Scriptural 
sense,  and  are  altogether  out  of  the  way  of 
salvation.  Out  of  the  Papacy,  according  to 
them,  there  can  be  no  ministry:  no  ordi- 
nances ;  na  hope  of  the  divine  favour.  They 
regard  Protestant  Episcopalians,  and  even 
the  Popish  Puseyites,  as  all  in  this  sad  and 
hopeless  predicament ;  as  making  no  part  of 
that  Church  which  Christ   hath  purchased 


84  APPENDIX. 

with  his  blood,  and  has  promised  to  glorify 
with  himself. 

(2.)  The  High  Chm'ch  EpiscopaUans, 
though  thus  proscribed  and  denounced  by 
the  "man  of  sin/^  "the  son  of  perdition," 
yet,  in  their  turn,  urge  claims  of  nearly  the 
same  character  for  their  own  sect.  They 
contend,  with  zeal,  for  the  divine  right  of 
their  form  of  Episcopacy.  They  maintain, 
not  only,  that  diocesan  or  prelatical  Episco- 
pacy was  the  Apostolic  form  of  Church 
government,  and  of  course  appointed  by 
Christ ;  but  that  it  is  so  essential,  that  there 
can  be  no  Church  without  it;  that  no  minis- 
ters, excepting  those  ordained  by  Prelates, 
have  a  right  to  administer  ordinances ;  that 
without  them  there  can  be  no  Church ;  and 
that  those  who  are  not  in  communion  with 
the  Episcopal  Church,  though  they  may,  pos- 
sibly, be  saved,  yet,  hke  the  heathen,  they 
bear  no  relation  to  the  Church  of  Christ,  and 
have  nothing  on  which  to  rely  but  the  "  un- 
co venanted  mercies  of  God."  They  assert, 
that  an  uninterrupted  succession  in  the  line  of 
Bishops  from  the  Apostles  to  the  present  day, 
is  indispensable  to  the  validity  of  the  minis- 
try, and  can  be  historically  deduced.     This 


APPENDIX.  85 

is  the  opinion  strenuously  maintained,  by  a 
large  number  of  the  Episcopal  sect  in  this 
country  and  in  Great  Britain ;  and  appears 
to  be  gaining  more  currency  among  the  ad- 
herents to  that  denomination,  on  both  sides 
of  the  Atlantic.  The  devotees  to  Puseyism 
are  especially  distinguished  by  their  adoption 
of  these  extravagant  notions ;  but  they  are 
far  from  being  confined  to  those  semi-Popish 
apostates  from  Protestant  principles. 

(3.)  There  is  a  third  and  mitigated  form  of 
the  divine  right  doctrine,  which  is  adopted  by 
large  numbers  of  intelligent  Christians,  and 
which  is  wholly  unattended  with  the  extra- 
vagance and  the  difficulties  which  belong  to 
the  tenet  just  mentioned.  The  doctrine  is, 
that  a  certain  form  of  Church  government 
was  approved  and  appointed  by  the  Apostles, 
and  was  every  where  in  use  in  the  primitive 
Church ;  that  as  this  plan  had  the  sanction  of 
divine  authority,  we  are  bound  to  consider 
it  as  the  best  plan  of  ecclesiastical  order ;  that 
it  ought  to  be  adopted  and  adhered  to  now  : 
but  still  that  this  form  is  not  essential  to  the 
being  of  the  Church,  though  it  is  to  its  per- 
fection; and  of  course,  that  we  may,  without 
hesitation,  acknowledge  as  true  churches  of 


86  APPENDIX. 

Christ  those  ecclesiastical  bodies  which  hold 
fast  the  fundamental  truth  and  ordinances  of 
Christ,  though  they  may  deviate  from  the  form 
of  external  organization  and  order  which  he 
appointed.  Those  who  adopt  this  opinion 
say,  that,  as  it  is  granted  by  all,  that  an  en- 
tire conformity  to  the  model  of  the  Apostolic 
Church,  in  every  jot  and  tittle,  is  not  essen- 
tial; and  as  it  is  conceded  that  no  church  now 
in  existence  is  in  fact  perfectly  conformed  to 
that  model;  so  there  seems  no  good  reason 
why  perfect  adherence  to  that  model  in  re- 
gard to  ecclesiastical  order,  should  be  regard- 
ed as  more  indispensable  than  with  respect 
to  doctrine,  or  the  details  of  ritual.  The 
advocates  of  this  opinion  have  been  numer- 
ous, both  among  Presbyterians  and  Episco- 
palians; and  it  is  believed  to  be,  at  this  mo- 
ment, the  opinion  ^f  some  of  the  greatest 
and  best  men  in  the  Church  of  England,  and 
of  a  few  Episcopalians  in  this  country. 

(4.)  There  is  a  fourth  opinion  on  this  sub- 
ject still  lower  in  the  scale.  It  is  the  opin- 
ion of  those  who  believe  that  neither  Christ 
nor  his  Apostles  laid  down  any  particular 
form  of  ecclesiastical  government  to  which 
the  Church  is  bound  to  adhere  in  all  ages. 


APPENDIX.  87 

They  suppose  that  every  Church,  Hke  every 
nation,  is  free,  consistently  with  the  divine 
will,  to  frame  her  constitution  agreeably  to 
her  own  views,  to  the  state  of  society,  and  to 
the  exigencies  of  the  times  and  places  in 
which  her  lot  is  cast.  They  commonly  pre- 
fer the  form  of  government  in  use  in  their 
own  Church ;  but  consider  it  fis  resting  on 
the  ground  of  human  expediency  alone,  and 
not  of  divine  appointment;  and  on  this  ground 
alone  they  would  plead  in  its  behalf.  The 
Kev.  Dr.  Jortin,  a  learned  divine  of  the 
Church  of  England,  who  adopted  this  opi- 
nion, embodied  it  in  one  sentence — "  Govern- 
ment is  of  God;  the  forms  of  it  of  men." — 
Many  other  Episcopal  divines,  both  in  for- 
mer and  later  times,  have  adopted  this  opin- 
ion, and,  of  course,  reject  the  divine  right 
of  any  form  of  government  in  the  Church  of 
•Christ. 

Presbyterians,  like  Episcopalians,  are  di- 
vided in  opinion,  in  regard  to  this  subject. 
Some  of  them  hold  to  the  divine  right  of  Pres- 
byterian Church  government,  in  the  third  or 
quaUfied  sense ;  that  is,  they  hold  that  the 
Presbyterian  form  of  ecclesiastical  order  was 
that  which  was  adopted  by  the  Apostles; 


SS  APPENDIX. 

that  it  is  the  best  form ;  tjiat  it  is  more  friendly 
to  the  diffusion  of  truth,  and  the  maintenance 
of  pure  discipUne  than  any  other;  and  that  it 
ought  to  be  adopted  every  where.  But  they 
do  not  beheve  that  it  is  essential  to  the  exis- 
tence of  the  Church,  though  it  is  to  its  perfec- 
tion. And,  accordingly,  they  freely  acknow- 
ledge as  truS  churches  of  Christ,  Congrega- 
tionalists,  Methodists,  Baptists,  and  Episco- 
palians, though  they  all  differ  from  themselves 
in  their  form  of  ecclesiastical  order.  No  one 
ever  read  or  heard  of  a  Presbyterian  who 
adopted  a  creed  more  rigorous  than  this.  It 
is  easy,  therefore,  to  see  that  Presbyterians 
may  hold  to  the  divine  right,  or  divine  autho- 
rity of  their  form  of  Church  government, 
without  a  thought  of  unchurching  any  other 
denomination  who  maintain  the  fundamental 
doctrines  of  the  Gospel,  and  have  a  regular 
worship  and  ministry.  We  repudiate  the 
baptisms  of  Socinians,  and  of  all  other  de- 
nominations who  reject  the  doctrine  of  the 
Holy  Trinity,  and  the  divinity  and  atonement 
of  the  blessed  Redeemer;  not  because  of  the 
irregularity  of  their  external  order,  but  be- 
cause, on  account  of  their  rejection  of  the 
essential  fundamental  faith  of  the  Church, 


APPENDIX.  89 

we  cannot  consider  them  as  Christians  at  all. 
But  no  one  ever  heard  of  a  Presbyterian  who 
denied  or  doubted  the  Church  character  of 
our  Episcopal,  Baptist,  Methodist,  or  Con- 
gregational brethren,  though  they  all  of  them 
so  entirely  "  dissent"  from  us  in  their  forms 
of  Church  order. 

The  author  of  the  foregoing  discourse 
thinks  it  due  to  candour  to  state,  that  he  is 
himself  a  firm  believer  in  the  divine  right  of 
that  form  of  Church  government  with  which 
it  is  his  privilege  to  be  connected.  He  be- 
lieves that  the  government  of  the  Church,  as 
left  by  Christ  and  his  inspired  Apostles,  was 
Presbyterian ;  that  there  is  no  form  of  eccle- 
siastical polity  so  well  adapted  to  promote 
the  order,  purity,  and  edification  of  the 
Church ;  that  it  is  the  duty  of  all  churches 
to  adopt  it ;  and  that  Prelacy,  on  the  one 
hand,  and  Independency  on  the  other,  have 
both  unhappily  departed  from  the  truly  primi- 
tive and  Apostolical  model.  Yet  he  would 
be  shocked  at  the  thought  of  unchurching 
either  of  these  denominations,  or  of  question- 
ing the  validity  of  their  ordinances. 

I  am  aware  that  in  holding  the  divine  right 
of  that  form  of  government  which  our  Church 

8 


90  APPENDIX. 

has  adopted,  I  differ  from  many  of  the  beloved 
and  respected  ministers  of  my  own  denomi- 
nation, who  do  not  heUeve  that  any  precise 
form  of  external  order  was  intended  to  be 
laid  down  m  the  New  Testament  Scriptures. 
They  decisively  prefer  the  Presbyterian,  and 
consider  it  as,  in  every  respect,  better  suited 
than  any  other  to  the  welfare  of  the  Church ; 
and  some  of  them  believe  that  it  was,  in  fact, 
adopted  by  the  Apostles;  but  they  do  not 
rest  their  arguments  in  its  favour  on  the 
ground  of  divine  authority.  Hov/  large  a 
portion  of  our  Ministers  and  Elders  occupy 
this  ground  is  uncertain ;  but  one  thing  is 
unquestionable,  that  no  Minister,  Elder,  or 
member  of  our  communion  is  chargeable 
with  holding  any  opinions  on  this  subject 
which  go  to  unchurching  other  evangel- 
ical denominations.  I  say,  evangelical  de-- 
nominations;  for  we  profess  to  harmonize 
with  apostolical  principle,  and  with  the  uni- 
form spirit  of  the  true  Church  in  all  ages,  in 
believing  that  Gospel  doctrine  is  far  more 
important  than  external  order ;  that  the 
purity  of  truth,  by  which  men  are  sanc- 
tified, is  a  far  more  essential  element  in  con- 


APPENDIX.  9t 

stituting  a  true  Church  of  Christ  than  the 
form  of  its  government  can  possibly  be. 

The  opinion  on  this  subject  avowed  in  our 
public  formularies,  is  marked,  at  once,  by  that 
firmness,  and  that  charity  which  it  were  to 
be  wished  might  be  every  where  acknow- 
ledged and  received.  It  is  expressed  in  these 
words:  "It  is  absolutely  necessary  that  the 
government  of  the  Church  be  exercised  under 
some  certain  and  definite  form.  And  we  hold 
it  to  be  expedient  and  agreep^ble  to  Scripture, 
and  the  practice  of  the  primitive  Christians, 
that  the  Church  be  governed  by  Congrega- 
tional, Presbyterial  and  Synodical  Assem- 
blies. In  full  consistency  with  this  belief, 
we  embrace  in  the  spirit  of  charity  those 
Christians  who  differ  from  us,  in  opinion,  or 
in  practice,  on  these  subjects.^'  (Form  of 
Government,  chapter  viii.  sec.  i.) 


NOTE  E. 

IMFFERENCE  BETWEEN  RULING  ELDERS  AND  DEACONS. 

There  is  so  much  popular  misapprehen- 
sion in  regard  to  these  tAvo  offices,  that  it  is 
judged  proper  to  make  some  remarks,  which 


92  APPENDIX. 

shall  have  for  their  object  to  show  the  most 
essential  and  obvious  points  of  distinction 
between  them. 

It  is  deeply  to  be  regretted  that  the  office 
of  Deacon,  in  its  true  nature,  and  in  its 
highly  important  and  scriptural  character,  is 
not  to  be  found  in  so  many  Presbyterian 
churches.  In  some  churches  this  office  is 
wholly  dropped ;  neither  the  name  nor  the 
thing  is  to  be  found  in  them.  In  others,  the 
Ruling  Elders,  or  the  members  of  the  Church 
Session,  are  constantly  styled  Deacons,  and 
scarcely  ever  designated  by  any  other  title  ; 
while  the  office  really  indicated  in  Scripture 
by  that  title  i^not  retained.  And  in  a  third 
class  of  our  churches,  those  who  are  meant 
for  real  Deacons,  that  is,  who  are  chosen  and 
set  apart  as  such,  as  well  as  called  by  that 
name,  are  employed  in  functions  for  which 
the  office  of  Deacon  was  never  instituted. 
The  cases,  it  is  feared,  are  few  in  which  the 
offices  of  Elder  and  Deacon  are  both  em- 
ployed together,  and  the  appropriate  func- 
tions of  each  distinctly  maintained.  It  is 
surely  desirable  that  clearer  views,  and  a 
more  correct  practice,  should  be  adopted, 
where  mistakes,  either  as  to  name  or  sub- 


APPENDIX.  93 

Stance,  have  been,  heretofore,  m  any  mea- 
sure, admitted. 

The  nature  of  the  Rulmg  Elder's  office 
has  been  seen  in  the  foregoing  discourse.  It 
has  been  stated  that  he  is  a  spiritual  ruler, 
who  has  a  high  trust  committed  to  him,  as 
an  aid  of  the  Pastor  in  inspecting,  regulating, 
and  authoritatively  watching  over  all  the 
spiritual  interests  of  the  Church  with  which 
he  is  connected.  In  a  word,  the  office  of  the 
Ruling  Elder  is  next  to  the  highest  in  the 
Church;  and  to  those  who  bes.r  this  office, 
the  vitally  important  duties  of  planning  and 
counselling  for  the  welfare  of  the  Church, 
admitting  to,  and  excluding  from,  member- 
ship in  it,  and  ordering  every  thing  for  the 
promotion  of  the  purity  and  spiritual  edifi- 
cation of  the  body  of  Christ,  belong. 

The  only  account  that  we  have  in  Scrip- 
ture of  the  origin  of  the  Deacon's  office  is 
found  in  the  following  passage  in  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles  vi.  1 — 6  :  "  And  in  those  days 
when  the  number  of  the  disciples  was  mul- 
tiplied, there  arose  a  murmuring  of  the  Gre- 
cians against  the  Hebrews,  because  their 
widows  were  neglected  in  the  daily  minis- 
tration.    Then  the  twelve  called  the  multi- 


94  APPENDIX. 

tude  of  the  disciples  unto  them  and  said,  It  is 
not  reason  that  we  should  leave  the  word  of 
God  and  serve  tables.  Wherefore,  brethren, 
look  ye  out  seven  men  of  honest  report,  full 
of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  wisdom,  whom  we 
may  appoint  over  this  business.  But  we  will 
give  ourselves  continually  to  prayer,  and  to 
the  ministry  of  the  word.  And  the  saying 
pleased  the  whole  multitude  ;  and  they  chose 
Stephen,  a  man  full  of  faith  and  the  Holy 
Ghost,  and  Philip,  and  Prochorus,  and  Ni^- 
canor,  and  Timon,  and  Parmenas-,  and  Ni- 
colas, a  proselyte  of  Antioch,  whom  they  set 
before  the  Apostles ;  and  when  they  had 
prayed,  they  laid  their  hands  on  them." 

Nothing  can  be  plainer  than  that  these 
fiirst  Deacons  were  chosen  and  set  apart,  not  to 
preach,  not  to  baptize,  nor  to  discharge  any 
spiritual  function.  Indeed  these  functions 
were  all  absolutely  precluded  by  the  very 
terms,  as  well  as  by  the  whole  spirit,  of  the  re- 
presentation given  by  the  inspired  historiam 
The  thing  complained  of  by  the  "  Grecian" 
believers,  was,  not  that  the  preaching  was 
neglected ;  nor  that  the  government  and  disci- 
pline of  the  Church  was  badly  managed. 
Not  a  hint  of  this  kind  i&^  gi\^en^    The  only 


APPENDIX.  95 

complaint  was,  that  the  poor,  the  widows, 
the  pensioners  on  the  Church's  bounty,  had 
been  neglected.  Prior  to  this  it  is  evident 
that  the  Apostles  themselves  had  received 
and  disbursed  the  Church's  charity.  When 
collections  were  made,  or  possessions  were 
sold,  we  read  that  the  avails  were  "brought 
and  laid  at  the  Apostles'  feet,"  who  dispensed 
them  "as  every  one  had  need."  But  as  the 
mmiber  of  the  disciples  became  greatly  mul- 
tiplied,  and  the  number  of  the  applicants  for 
charity  also  rapidly  increased ;  the  Apostles 
found  that  their  continuing  to  receive  and  dis- 
pense the  charitable  funds  of  the  Church 
would  not  only  be  burdensome  to  them,  but 
would  essentially  interfere  with  their  spiritual 
and  more  important  duties.  They,  therefore, 
said,  "  Look  ye  out  seven  m^en  of  honest  re- 
port whom  we  may  appoint  over  this  busi- 
ness, while  we  will  give  ourselves  to  prayer 
and  to  the  ministry  of  the  word."  Is  it  pos- 
sible to  conceive  of  testimony  more  direct  and 
unequivocal,  that  the  officer  in  question  was 
not  to  pursue  the  ministry  of  the  word?  Can 
any  man,  who  is  not  so  blindly  wedded  to  a 
system,  as  to  believe,  not  only  without  evi- 
dence, but  against  evidence,  consider  this  pas- 


96  APPENDIX. 

sage  as  importing  that  deacons  were  appoint- 
ed to  be  preachers  of  the  word  ?  Nay,  is  it  not 
expressly  stated  that  the  Apostles  considered 
the  duties  of  this  office  as  of  such  a  nature 
that  their  undertaking  to  fulfil  them,  would 
compel  them  to  leave  preaching,  and  devote 
themselves  ta  the  "  service  of  tables  ?" 

The  question  arises,  what  is  meant  by  that 
"  serving  of  tables,"  to  which  the  first  Dea- 
cons were  so  unquestionably  destined.  It 
has  been  supposed  by  many  that  this  phrase 
has  a  reference  either  to  the  Lord's  Table, 
or  to  overseeing  and  supplying  the  domestic 
tables  of  the  poor,  or  perhaps  both.  But 
there  is  much  reason  to  believe  that  this  is 
an  entire  mistake.  The  word  ifpans^a  sig- 
nifies, indeed,  a  table,  but,  in  this  connexion, 
it  seems  obviously  to  mean  a  money-table, 
or  a  counter,  on  which  money  was  laid,  reck- 
oned and  dispensed.  Hence  tpansCitrjij  a 
money-changer,  or  money-merchant.  See 
Matt.  xxi.  12  ;  xxv.  27  ;  Mark  xi.  15  ;  Luke 
xix.  23.  The  plain  meaning,  then,  of  Acts 
vi.  1 — 6,  seems  to  be  this,  "  It  is  not  reason- 
able that  we  should  leave  the  word  of  God, 
(that  is,  preaching)  and  devote  ourselves  to 
money-tables,"  that  is  to  pecuniary  affairs; 


APPENDIX.  97 

'*'  therefore  look  ye  out  seven  good  and  trust- 
worthy men,  to  whom  we  may  commit  the 
care  of  all  these  pecuniary  concerns  ;  that  we 
may  be  enabled  to  give  ourselves  entirely  to 
the  ministry  of  the  word." 

It  would  seem,  then,  that  the  Deacon's 
office  in  the  apostolic  age,  had  nothing  to  do 
with  the  government  and  discipline  of  the 
Church.  Those  who  bore  this  office  were 
not  intended  to  be  the  Pastor's  counsellors 
and  helpers,  or  to  take  any  part  in  conduct- 
ing the  spiritual  interests  of  the  flock ;  but  to 
superintend  and  manage  the  money  concerns 
of  the  Church,  and  especially  that  part  of 
them  devoted  to  the  cause  of  benevolence 
and  charity.  Of  course,  the  Deacons  make 
no  part,  strictly  speaking,  of  the  Church  Ses- 
sion. They  may  be  present,  indeed,  without 
impropriety,  when  that  body  is  convened. 
Perhaps  it  would  be  desirable  that  they 
should  be  always  present,  for  the  sake  of 
receiving  and  imparting  that  information  con- 
cerning the  state  of  the  Church  which  it  is 
desirable  that  all  the  officers  of  the  Church 
should  possess.  But  they  are  not  constituent 
members  of  that  judicatory  ;  have  no  right  to 
give  votes  in  the  transaction  of  its  business; 

9 


98  APPENDIX. 

and  can  exercise  no  authority  in  managing 
the  spiritual  affairs  of  the  congregation.  They 
are,  indeed,  ecclesiastical  men;  and,  in  the 
second  and  third  centuries,  were  reckoned 
among  the  clergy;  a  title  which  was  then 
given  to  every  class  of  church  officers,  to 
distinguish  them  from  the  laity ^  or  the  ordi- 
nary mass  of  the  members  of  the  Church. 
But  they  were  ecclesiastical  men  of  a  peculiar 
sort,  set  apart  for  managing  the  funds  of  the 
Church;  and  many  suppose  that  to  Deacons 
ought  to  be  committed  all  the  pecuniary 
affairs  of  the  Church;  and  that  they  ought 
to  supersede  the  employment  of  Boards  of 
Trustees,  who  are  commonly  entrusted,  at 
present,  with  holding  and  disbursing  the 
funds  of  ecclesiastical  societies. 

From  this  view  of  the  subject,  it  is  evident 
that  those  who  bear  the  Deacon's  office, 
though  not  charged  with  the  same  weighty 
concerns  which  devolve  on  the  Ruling 
Elder,  yet  occupy  a  highly  important  and 
responsible  station.  And  hence  the  Apostles, 
in  giving  counsel  concerning  the  choice  of 
the  first  Deacons,  direct  that  they  be  men 
of  tried  wisdom,  integrity  and  piety.  And 
is  it  not  too  manifest  to  require  argument, 


APPENDIX.  99 

that  those  to  whose  inteUigence,  prudence, 
and  fideUty,  the  Church  commits  the  dehcate 
and  highly  responsible  task  of  selecting  and 
relieving  the  objects  of  her  charity,  ought  to 
be  wise  men,  tender  hearted,  wilUng  to  la- 
bour for  the  cause  of  Christ,  and  worthy  of 
entire  confidence  in  the  management  of  the 
funds  committed  to  their  care? 

It  is  not  only  manifest,  that  the  Deacon,  in 
the  Apostolic  Church,  was  such  as  has  been 
described;  but  the  following  extracts  from 
early  writers  will  plainly  show  that  this  con- 
tinued to  be  his  function  for  several  centuries 
after  the  apostolic  age.  Hermas,  one  of  the 
apostolical  fathers,  in  his  Similitude,  ix.  27. 
tells  us,  that  "  of  such  as  believed,  some 
were  set  over  inferior  functions,  or  services, 
being  entrusted  with  the  poor  and  widows.'^ 
Origen  (Tract.  16  in  Matt.)  says,  "The  Dea- 
cons preside  over  the  money  tables  of  the 
Church.''  And  again — "Those  Deacons 
who  do  not  manage  well  the  money  of  the 
Church,  committed  to  their  care,  but  act  a 
fraudulent  part,  and  dispense  it,  not  accord- 
ing to  justice,  but  for  the  purpose  of  enrich- 
ing themselves;  these  act  the  part  of  money- 
changers, and  keepers  of  those  tables  which 


100  APPENDIX. 

our  Lord  overturned.  For  the  Deacons  were 
appointed  to  preside  over  the  tables  of  the 
Church,  as  we  are  taught  in  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles.''  Cyprian  (Epist.  52.)  speaks  of  a 
certain  Deacon  who  had  been  deposed  from 
his  sacred  Deaconship  on  account  of  his  frau- 
dulent and  sacrilegious  use  of  the  Church's 
money  for  his  own  private  use,  and  for  his 
denial  of  the  widow's  and  orphan's  pledges 
deposited  with  him."  And,  in  another 
place,  (Epist.  ad  Rogatianum,)  as  a  proof 
that  his  view  of  this  office  is  not  misappre- 
hended, he  refers  the  appointment  of  the 
first  Deacons  to  the  choice  and  ordination  at 
Jerusalem,  as  recited  at  large  in  the  Acts  of 
the  Apostles.  It  is  incidentally  stated  in  the 
account  of  the  persecution  under  the  Em- 
peror Decius,  in  the  third  century,  that,  by 
order  of  the  emperor,  Laurentius,  one  of  the 
Deacons  of  Rome,  was  seized,  under  the  ex- 
pectation of  finding  the  money  of  the  Church, 
collected  for  the  use  of  the  poor,  in  his  pos- 
session. It  is  further  stated,  that  this  money 
had  been  in  his  hands;  but  that,  expecting 
the  storm  of  persecution,  he  had  distributed 
it  before  his  seizure.  Ambrose,  in  speaking 
of  the  fourth  century — the  time  in  which  he 


APPENDIX.  101 

lived — (Comment,  in  Ephes.  iv.)  says,  "Tiie 
Deacons  do  not  publicly  preach."  Chrysos- 
tom,  wiio  lived  in  the  same  century,  in  his 
Commentary  on  Acts  vi.  remarks,  that  "The 
Deacons  had  need  of  great  wisdom,  although 
the  preaching  of  the  gospel  was  not  commit- 
ted to  them;"  and  observes  further,  that  "it 
is  absurd  to  suppose  that  they  should  have 
the  offices  of  preaching  and  taking  care  of 
the  poor  committed  to  them,  seeing  it  is  im- 
possible for  them  to  discharge  both  functions 
adequately."  Jerome,  in  his  letter  to  Eva- 
grius,  calls  Deacons,  "Ministers  of  tables 
and  widows."  And  in  the  Apostolical  Con- 
stitutions, which,  though  undoubtedly  spu- 
rious as  an  Apostolical  work,  may  probably 
be  referred  to  the  fourth  or  fifth  century,  it 
is  declared,  (Lib.  viii.  cap.  28.)  "  It  is  not 
lawful  for  the  Deacons  to  baptize,  or  to 
administer  the  eucharist,  or  to  pronounce 
the  greater  or  smaller  benediction."  And, 
finally,  in  the  Council  of  Constantinople,  (in 
Trullo,)  in  the  sixth  century,  it  is  expressly 
asserted  (Can.  16)  that  the  seven  Deacons 
spoken  of  in  the  Acts  of  the  Apostles,  are 
not  to  be  understood  of  such  as  ministered  in 


102  APPENDIX. 

divine  service,  or  in  sacred  mysteries,  but 
only  of  such  as  served  tables,  and  attended 
to  the  poor.  Oecumenius,  also,  in  comment- 
ing on  the  sixth  chapter  of  the  Acts  of  the 
Apostles,  says,  "They  laid  their  hands  on 
the  Deacons  who  had  been  elected,  which 
office  was  by  no  means  the  same  Avith  that 
which  obtains  at  the  present  day  in  the 
Church  (i.  e.  under  the  same  name,)  but  that 
with  the  utmost  care  and  diligence,  they 
might  distribute  what  was  necessary  to  the 
sustenance  of  orphans  and  widows."  Other 
citations  to  the  same  amount  might  easily  be 
produced. 

It  was  said,  in  a  preceding  page,  that 
some  interpreters  of  Scripture  have  been  of 
the  opinion,  that  the  "serving  of  tables," 
spoken  of  in  Acts  vi.  3,  had  a  reference  to 
the  Lord's  table,  as  well  as  to  the  tables  of 
the  poor.  Accordingly,  Justin  Martyr,  in  his 
second  Apology,  tells  the  emperor,  to  whom 
he  addressed  it,  that,  in  the  administration  of 
the  Lord's  Supper,  the  elements  were  distri- 
buted to  those  communicants  who  were  pre- 
sent, and  carried  to  the  absent,  by  the  Dea- 
cons.    In  the    same    service    Deacons    are 


APPENDIX.  103 

sometimes  employed,  at  the  present  da^^,  in 
Presbyterian  Churches,  and  always  in  those 
of  the  Congregational  order. 

As  was  observed  on  a  preceding  page,  it 
is  ver}^  much  to  be  regretted  that  an'  office 
so  plainly  scriptural,  and  so  exceedingly  im- 
portant in  various  points  of  view  as  that 
of  the  Deaconship,  should  have  been  suffer- 
ed, in  so  large  a  number  of  Presbyterian 
churches,  not  only  in  our  own  country,  but 
also  in  Great  Britain,  in  Ireland,  and  on  the 
continent  of  Europe,  to  fall  in  a  great  mea- 
sure into  disuse.  In  the  churches,  indeed, 
with  which  the  author  of  the  foregoing  dis- 
course was  connected  as  Pastor,  fifty  years 
ago,  and  with  which  he  remained  connect- 
ed for  twenty  years,  in  the  former  part  of 
his  life,  this  office  was  faithfully  maintained, 
and  constantly  and  appropriately  employed. 
And  it  was  not  until  he  entered  on  his  pre- 
sent office,  thirty  years  ago,  that  he  became 
sensible  in  how  few  of  our  churches  the  Dea- 
conship  was  retained.  It  is  true,  ever  since 
he  discovered  the  prevalence  of  this  defect, 
he  has  laboured  earnestly,  with  all  the  suc- 
cessive classes  of  candidates  for  the  ministry 
which  he  has  had  an  opportunity  of  address- 


104  APPENDIX. 

ing,  to  convince  them  of  the  unhappy  charac- 
ter of  this  defect,  and  to  urge  the  universal 
restoration  of  this  office  in  all  our  churches. 
He  laments  that  these  well-meant  efforts,  of 
thirty  years,  have  not  been  attended  with 
more  success ;  and  that  so  large  a  number  of 
our  churches  still  remain  unfurnished  with  a 
class  of  officers,  not  only  appointed  of  God, 
but  manifestly  adapted  to  answer  many  im- 
portant purposes  in  the  sacred  household. 
Let  us  hope  that  more  attention  will  be  paid 
to  the  supply  of  this  deficiency  in  time  to 
come.  It  is  worthy  of  notice  that  the  "  Free 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland,"  recently 
organized,  has  taken  measures  for  a  "  general 
restoration  of  the  order  of  Deacons.'^ 

Various  reasons  have  been  assigned,  in 
different  Presbyterian  churches,  for  not  main- 
taining the  Deaconship  as  a  distinct  office. 
Some  have  pleaded  that  they  had  no  church- 
poor,  properly  speaking,  as  the  secular  go- 
vernment made  provision  for  the  support  of 
all  paupers.  This  plea,  however,  ought  not 
to  be  either  advanced  or  admitted.  What 
though  the  laws  of  the  state  make  provision 
of  a  decent  kind  for  all  who  are  recognized 
as   poor?     Are  there  not  commonly  found 


APPENDIX.  105 

within  the  bounds,  and  even  among  the 
communicants,  of  every  church,  a  greater  or 
less  number  of  aged,  infirm  persons,  once 
in  better  circumstances,  but  now  reduced — 
widows  advanced  in  age;  persons  of  dehcate, 
retiring  spirits,  who  are  struggling  wuh  the 
most  severe  privations  of  poverty  in  secret, 
but  who  cannot  bring  themselves  to  apply  to 
the  civil  ofiicer  for  aid  as  paupers  ;  who,  at 
the  same  time,  would  be  made  comparatively 
comfortable  by  a  pittance  now  and  then  dis- 
pensed by  a  pious  Deacon,  in  the  tender  and 
aifectionate  spirit  of  the  Gospel?  Surely  in 
every  church  there  ought  to  be  a  class  of  offi- 
cers specially  charged  with  a  benevolent  agen- 
cy so  constantly,  and,  I  may  say,  so  eminently 
exemplified  in  the  primitive  Church,  and  so 
well  adapted  to  adorn  the  Christian  charac- 
ter, and  to  promote  the  edification  and  com- 
fort of  Christian  society. 

When  we  refer  to  the  charities  of  the 
church  in  the  Apostolic  age,  and  for  several 
centuries  afterwards,  it  is  probable  that  very 
few  adequately  apprehend  their  real  charac- 
ter or  amount.  The  early  Christians  devoted 
themselves  to  the  work  of  relieving  the  des- 
titute and  the  miserable  with  a  zeal,  a  perse- 


106  APPENDIX. 

verance,  and  an  expensiveness  which  have, 
perhaps,  never  seen  a  parallel.  The  number 
of  poor  widows,  children  and  impotent  per- 
sons supported  by  the  liberality  of  the  Chris- 
tians of  Rome  was  almost  incredibly  great. 
In  Antioch,  as  late  as  the  time  of  Chrysostom, 
more  than  three  thousand  poor  and  distressed 
persons  were  said  to  be  sustained  by  the 
funds  of  the  church  in  that  city.  In  short, 
the  primitive  Christians  were  not  only  in  the 
habit  of  relieving  their  poor  brethren  and 
sisters  who  were  residing  among  them,  or 
near  at  hand;  but  they  sent  liberal  relief  to 
suffering  churches  and  individuals  at  a  dis- 
tance. They  redeemed  captives.  They  pro- 
vided for  the  comfort  of  convicts  in  the  mines. 
They  even  endeavoured,  at  great  sacrifices, 
to  promote  the  welfare  and  enjoyment  of 
those  who  exhibited  nothing  toward  them 
but  hatred  and  persecution.  This  feature  in 
the  character  and  habits  of  the  early  Christians 
was  so  pre-eminent  and  made  so  strong  an 
impression  in  their  favour  on  the  surrounding 
population,  that  the  emperor  Julian,  recom- 
mended to  the  heathen  to  imitate  the  Gali- 
leans in  the  care  which  they  took  of  the  poor. 
It  is  easy  to  see  from  this  statement — 


APPENDIX.  107 

which  the  New  Testament  itself  in  a  great 
measure  confirms, — that  at  the  period  of 
wliich  Ave  speak,  the  duties  connected  with 
the  Deacon's  office,  were  greatly  extended 
and  exceedingly  arduous ;  calling  for  wis- 
dom, piety,  prudence,  energy,  and  fidelity  in 
an  eminent  degree.  No  wonder  that  the 
Apostles  charged  the  Christian  people  to 
"look  out  for  men  of  honest  report,"  whom 
they  might  entrust  with  this  business ;  and 
no  wonder  that  their  choice  was  directed  to 
men  "full  of  faith  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost." 
Surely  men  of  this  character  were  urgently 
needed  for  labours  at  once  so  important,  ar- 
duous and  self-denying. 

In  some  churches  the  appropriate  functions 
of  the  Deaconship  are  assigned  to  the  Ruling 
Elders,  who  assume  the  duties  of  both  offices. 
This,  as  before  remarked,  has  been,  for  a 
long  time,  extensively  the  case  in  Scotland 
and  Ireland,  and  also  in  some  Presbyterian 
churches  on  the  continent  of  Europe  ;  and  is 
not  unknown  in  our  own  body.  To  this 
arrangement  there  are  strong  objections. 
Among  them  are  the  following.  (1)  It  is 
different  from  the  Apostolic  plan.  (2)  The 
duties  of  the  Ruling  Elder  are  amply  suffi- 


lOS  APPENDIX. 

cient  to  employ  the  whole  time  of  him  who 
bears  it,  without  laying  on  him  the  duties  of 
another,  and  a  very  different  office.  (3)  If 
there  be  not  an  absolute  incompatibility  be- 
tween the  duties  of  Ruhng  Elder  and  Dea- 
con, there  is,  at  least,  such  an  amount  of  in- 
terference as  is  certainly  undesirable,  and 
ought  by  all  means  to  be  avoided.  A  little 
reflection  will  satisfy  any  one  that  when  the 
same  officer  visits  a  parishioner  in  the  double 
capacity  of  a  spiritual  counsellor,  and  an  ec- 
clesiastical almoner,  the  two  functions  may 
exert  an  unfriendly  influence  on  each  other. 
(4)  If  there  be  in  the  communion  of  the 
church  candidates  enough  for  the  occupancy 
of  both  offices,  is  it  good  policy  to  lay  both 
of  them  on  the  same  individual?  Is  it  not 
wiser  to  call  to  office  a  larger  number  of  the 
members  of  the  church,  and  thus  to  bring  a 
greater  number  to  take  an  interest  in  the  af- 
fairs of  the  Christian  community  ? 

I  will  only  add,  in  regard  to  the  Deacon's 
office,  that  some  enlightened  and  pious  friends 
of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  as  suggested  in 
a  preceding  page,  have  been  of  the  opinion, 
that  in  every  church  a  bench  of  Deacons 
ought  to  take  the  place  of  the  ordinary  Board 


APPENDIX.  109 

of  Trustees,  so  that  all  the  "money  tables/' 
or,  in  other  words,  the  whole  pecuniary  con- 
cerns of  the  church  may  be  in  the  hands,  not 
only  of  communicants,  but  of  ecclesiastical 
officers,  regularly  chosen,  and  solemnly  set 
apart  to  this  important  service.  Whatever 
may  be  thought  of  this  plan  in  other  respects, 
it  certahily  has  much  to  recommend  it  on  the 
score  of  scriptural  consistency.  The  New 
Testament  speaks  of  no  other  managers  of 
church  funds  than  Deacons.  This  plan  also, 
if  adopted,  would  certainly  confer  on  the 
holders  and  managers  of  church  funds  a  de- 
gree of  ecclesiastical  responsibility  beyond 
what  is  included  in  the  present  method  of 
managing  the  property  of  the  church. 

For  a  fuller  view  of  the  subject  embraced 
in  this  note,  see  my  Essay  on  the  Warrant, 
Nature  and  Duties  of  the  office  of  the  Ruling 
Elder,  in  the  Presbyterian  Church — first  pub- 
iished  in  1831. 


110  APPENDIX. 

NOTE  F. 

THE    ORDINATION   OF    RULING   ELDERS   BY   THE   IMPOSITION  OP 
HANDS. 

The  ordination  which  Ruhng  Elders  them- 
selves have  generally  received,  and  ought  to 
receive,  is  worthy  of  distinct  notice.  It  is 
well  known  that  our  form  of  government  not 
only  requires  that  this  class  of  officers  shall 
be  fairly  chosen  by  the  members  of  the 
Church,  but  also  prescribes  a  form  of  ordi- 
nation for  them ;  a  form  which,  as  far  as  it 
goes,  is  well  devised,  impressive  and  excel- 
lent. I  say,  as  far  as  it  goes;  for  it  has  been, 
for  many  years,  my  settled  conviction,  that 
the  ordination  service  for  Ruling  Elders  given 
in  our  formularies  is  chargeable  with  a  defect, 
which,  though  not  essential,  and  therefore  not 
a  matter  for  whicli  it  is  proper  to  interrupt 
the  peace  of  the  Church,  yet  appears  to  me 
incapable  of  a  satisfactory  defence.  I  mean 
7  that  it  omits  to  prescribe  the  imposition  of 
I j  hands  in  setting  apart  the  candidates  for  this 
office. 

The  "imposition  of  hands,''  as  a  constit- 
uent part  of  ordination,  is  an  old  and  im- 


APPENDIX.  Ill 

pressive  rite.     It  was,  notoriously,  a  familiar 
mode  of  designation  to  office  through  the 
whole  of  the  Old  Testament  economy.     It  is 
if  I  mistake  not,  universally  acknowledged 
to  have  been  employed  in  ordaining  all  the 
Elders  of  the  Jewish  synagogue.     We  find 
it  used  in  every  ordination,  without  excep- 
tion, the  particulars  of  which  are  detailed  in 
the  New  Testament  history.    Even  in  setting 
apart  the  Deacons,  of  which  we  find  an  ac- 
count in  Acts  vi.,  nothing  can  be  more  exphcit 
than  the  statement  that  it  was  done  with  the 
"laying  on  of  hands."     Now,  as  the  Dea- 
con's office,  in  the  Apostolic  Church,  had  no 
connexion  with  preaching  or  baptizing,  as 
some  modern  sects  would  make  us  believe  5 
but  was  merely  an  office  entrusted  with  the 
supervision  of  "widows  and  tables;"  surely 
if  men  selected  to  this  office  were  set  apart 
with  so  much  formality  and  solemnity,  it  is 
not  easy  to  find  a  solid  reason  why  a  class 
of  purely  spiritual,  and  more  important  offi- 
cers, should  be  denied  a  similar  form  of  in- 
vestiture.    So  far,  then,  as  we  are  bound  to 
reverence  and  follow  ancient,  primitive  and 
uniform  usage,  the  argument  seems  to  be 


A 


112  APPENDIX. 

complete,  that  the  rite  in  question,  in  ordain- 
ing RaUng  Elders,  ought  not  to  be  omitted. 

We  read,  in  the  New  Testament,  of  four 
cases  or  kinds  of  "laying  on  of  hands.'' 
The  first,  by  Christ  himself,  to  express  au- 
thoritative benediction;  (Matt.  xix.  15,  Mark 
X.  16;)  the  second,  in  the  healing  of  diseases, 
(Mark  xvi.  IS,  Acts  xxviii.  8;)  the  third,  in 
conferring  extraordinary  gifts  of  the  Holy 
Ghost,  (Acts  viii.  17,  xix.  6;)  and  the  fourth, 
in  setting  apart  to  office,  (Acts  vi.  6,  xiii.  3, 
1  Timothy  iv.  14.)  The  venerable  Dr. 
Owen,  in  his  commentary  on  Hebrew  vi.  2, 
expresses  the  opinion,  that  the  "laying  on 
of  hands  '^  mentioned  in  that  passage  is  to 
be  considered  as  belonging  to  the  third  kind 
or  claims  of  cases,  and,  of  course,  as  referring 
to  the  extraordinary  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
Others  have  supposed  that  it  rather  belongs 
to  the  fourth  example  here  enumerated,  and 
therefore  applies  to  the  ordination  of  minis- 
ters. On  this  point  I  decide  nothing ;  because 
no  one,  I  think,  can  be  warranted  in  deciding 
positively.  But  my  reason  for  supposing  that 
the  imposition  of  hands  in  the  ordination  of 
church  officers  had  no  reference  to  the  im- 
parting of  spiritual  gifts,  and,  consequently, 


APPENDIX.  113 

ought  not  to  be  superseded  on  account  of  the 
ceasing  of  those  gifts,  are  such  as  these  : — 

1.  This  rite  has  been  employed  in  all  ages 
of  the  Churchj  and  under  every  dispensation, 
in  setting  apart  persons  to  ecclesiastical  office. 

2.  It  is  one  of  the  most  natural  and  significant 
modes  of  designating  a  person  who  is  in- 
tended to  be  set  apart  or  devoted  to  a  partic- 
ular service.  3.  It  was  manifestly  employed 
in  a  number  of  cases  which  occur  in  the 
sacred  history,  where  no  special  gifts  were 
intended  to  be  conveyed;  and  therefore, 
though  sometimes  connected  with  those 
gifts,  yet,  certainly,  not  in  all  cases,  thus 
connected.  4.  When  hands  were  laid  on 
Paul  and  Barnabas,  at  Antioch,  it  was  not 
that  they  might  receive  those  gifts,  for  they 
were  evidently  possessed  of  them  prior  to 
this  solemnity.  5.  In  this  case,  too,  it  is 
remarkable,  that  they  seem  to  have  been 
ordinary  pastors  and  teachers  who  laid  their 
hands  upon  one,  at  least,  of  extraordinary 
gifts  and  character.  6.  And  finally,  in  1 
Tim.  V.  22,  the  whole  rite  of  ordination 
seems  to  be  comprehended  in  this  act.  "  Lay 
hands  suddenly  on  no  man,"  &c.  And  if  we 
consider  the  act  of  laying  hands  on  the  head 

10 


114  APPENDIX. 

of  the  candidate  for  sacred  office  as  intended, 
at  once,  to  designate  his  person,  to  express  a 
devout  and  official  benediction,  and  to  indi- 
cate liis  entire  consecration  to  the  service  of 
God,  we  could  scarcely  conceive  of  an  act 
more  simple,  and  yet  more  appropriate  and 
full  of  meaning. 

But  reasonable,  scriptural,  and  expressive 
as  is  the  rite  of  laying  hands  on  the  heads  of 
candidates  for  office,  and  constant  as  is  its 
use  in  the  ordination  of  those  Elders  who 
"  labour  in  the  Word  and  doctrine ;"  how 
comes  it  to  pass  that  it  should  ha.ve  been  so 
generally,  not  to  say  universally,  omitted 
among  Presbyterians  in  the  ordination  of 
Ruling  Elders?  That  Elders  of  this  class 
were  thus  ordained  in  the  apostolic  Church, 
may  be  confidently  taken  for  granted.  What 
was  done  with  so  much  marked  solemnity, 
in  the  ordination  of  Deacons,  we  cannot  sup- 
pose to  have  been  omitted  in  setting  apart 
men  to  a  higher  and  more  truly  spiritual  and 
controhng  office.  And  yet,  nothing  is  more 
certain  than  that,  since  the  Reformation  from 
Popery,  when  the  use  of  this  office  was  al- 
most universally  revived,  the  mode  of  con- 
ducting its  investiture  by  the  imposition  of 


APPENDIX.  115 

hands,  has  been  almost  every  where  omitted. 
When  this  formahty  began  to  be  omitted, 
and  for  what  reason,  are  questions  for  the 
solution  of  which  we  do  not  possess  definite 
information.  What  the  practice  of  the  Wal- 
denses,  and  other  pious  witnesses  of  the 
truth,  during  the  dark  ages,  who  uniformly 
maintained  the  office  of  Ruling  Elder,  during 
all  their  hardships  and  persecutions,  was,  can- 
not now,  so  far  as  I  know,  be  certainly  deter- 
mined. We  must  presume  that  they  followed 
the  Scriptural  model.  The  Reformers  re- 
ceived the  office  under  consideration  from 
those  pious  witnesses  ;  and  were  well  aware, 
as  their  writings  evince,  that  all  ordinations 
in  the  Synagogues,  and  in  the  primitive 
Church,  had  been  accompanied  with  the  lay- 
ing on  of  hands.  Still,  however,  while  they, 
with  one  accord,  retained  this  rite  in  the  ordi- 
nation of  Teaching  Elders,  they  seem,  quite 
as  unanimously,  to  have  discarded  it  in  the 
ordination  of  Ruling  Elders.  Of  the  cause 
of  this,  their  writings  give  us  no  intimation; 
nor  has  it  ever  been  my  lot  to  hear,  from  any 
quarter,  a  single  reason  for  the  omission, 
which  was  in  the  least  degree  satisfactory. 
Still,  the  fact,  so  far  as  I  know,  is  indubitable, 


116  APPENDIX. 

that  from  the  commencement  of  the  Refor- 
mation to  this  hour,  in  the  Reformed  Churches 
of  Scotland,  France,  Holland,  Geneva  and 
Germany — all  of  which  were  Prebsyterian — 
in  short,  throughout  the  whole  Presbyterian 
world  of  Europe,  the  ordination  of  Ruling 
Elders  by  the  imposition  of  hands,  has  been 
altogether  unknown.  Upon  the  same  plan 
our  Formularies,  as  agreed  upon  by  the  Pres- 
byterian Church  in  the  United  States  in  1788, 
proceeded.  They  made  no  provision  for  the 
use  of  this  form  in  the  ordination  of  this  class 
of  officers;  nor  was  it  ever  introduced  into 
our  practice,  until  about  twenty  years  after 
the  adoption  of  her  present  system.  Then 
the  first  specimen  of  it,  in  our,  or,  so  far  as 
he  knows,  in  any  Presbyterian  Church,  was 
given  by  the  author  of  this  Manual.  In  the 
year  1809,  being  called  upon  to  constitute  a 
new  church,  in  a  destitute  settlement,  he  or- 
dained the  Elders  with  the  imposition  of 
hands.  He  was  aware  that  in  our  Church 
there  was  no  precedent  for  this  proceeding, 
but  so  deep  was  his  conviction  that  both 
scriptural  principle  and  scriptural  example 
called  for  this  method  of  setting  them  apart, 
that  he  could  no  longer  forbear  to  adopt  it. 


APPENDIX.  117 

He  well  remembers,  indeed,  the  doubting 
look,  and  the  shaking  head  which  he  encoun- 
tered on  the  occasion  from  some  who  con- 
sidered themselves  as  peculiarly  strict  Pres- 
byterians. Since  that  time,  however,  the 
practice  has  been  gradually  gaining  ground, 
and  seems  now  likely  to  obtain  general  pre- 
valence in  our  Church. 

Although,  as  has  been  already  said,  no 
reason  is  formally  assigned,  or  even  hinted, 
in  the  writings  of  the  Reformers,  for  laying 
aside  the  imposition  of  hands  in  the  ordina- 
tion of  Ruling  Elders,  it  is  not,  perhaps,  dif- 
ficult to  conjecture  how  it  happened.  One 
mistake,  it  is  probable,  naturally  led  to  an- 
other. They  began  by  considering  the  office 
as  a  temporary  one,  or  rather,  with  allowing 
those  who  bore  it,  if  they  saw  fit,  to  decline 
sustaining  it  for  more  than  a  single  year. 
This  seems  to  have  been  the  original  consti- 
tution of  the  Reformed  Church  of  Scotland. 
There  was  a  new  election  of  these  Elders 
annually.  The  same  individuals,  indeed,  if 
they  were  acceptable  to  the  people,  and  were 
willing  to  continue  to  serve  the  Church,  might 
be  re-elected  for  a  series  of  years,  or,  if  they 
consented,  even  for  life.    But  this  seldom  oc- 


lis  APPENDIX. 

curred.  There  was, for  the  most  part,  annually, 
a  considerable  change  in  the  individuals,  and 
annually,  a  new  ordination.  The  same  plan  of 
proceeding  seems  to  have  prevailed  in  all  the 
Presbyterian  Churches  on  the  continent  of 
Europe.  The  tenure  of  the  office  being  thus 
temporary,  and,  in  many  cases,  but  for  a  single 
year,  no  wonder  there  should  seem  to  the  dis- 
cerning and  pious  men  who  took  the  lead  in 
organizing  the  Reformed  Churches,  some  in- 
congruity between  this  annual  renewal  of  the 
official  investiture  and  obligation,  and  setting 
apart  men  to  the  office  in  question,  each  time, 
with  the  very  same  external  formalities  which 
attended  the  ordination  of  ministers  of  the  Gos- 
pel, whose  tenure  of  office  was  for  life.  This 
incongruity,  it  is  probable,  struck  them  with 
so  much  force,  that  they  could  not  reconcile 
it  with  their  feelings  to  set  apart  to  office 
these  temporary  incumbents  with  the  same 
rites  and  solemnity  which  they  employed  in 
ordaining  ministers  of  the  word  and  sacra- 
ments. At  what  period  in  the  history  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland  it  was  that  the  annual 
election  of  Elders  was  laid  aside,  and  the 
office  made  permanent,  is  not  with  absolute 
certainty  known.    The  Rev.  Mr.  Lorimer,  in 


APPENDIX.  119 

his  late  valuable  treatise  on  the  Eldership  in 
the  Church  of  Scotland,*  supposes  it  to  have 
been  about  the  year  1642,  a  short  time  be- 
fore the  meeting  of  the  Westminster  Assem- 
bly. But  so  great  was  the  force  of  habit, 
that  notwithstanding  this  change  in  the  tenure 
of  the  ofiice,  the  old  method  of  ordination  has 
been  continued  in  Scotland  to  this  day,  and 
was  brought  by  our  fathers  to  this  country, 
where  it  continued  without  change  until  1809, 
when  for  the  first  time  it  is  believed,  in  the 
Presbyterian  world,  the  practice  of  laying  on 
hands  in  the  ordination  of  Elders  was  intro- 
duced, but  has  not  yet  become  general  in  our 
Church ;  and  so  far  as  the  present  writer 
knows,  is  entirely  confined  to  the  United 
States.  It  appears,  indeed,  from  the  work 
of  Mr.  Lorimer,  just  quoted,  that  in  the  Pres- 
byterian Churches  both  of  Scotland  and  Ire- 
land the  popular  election  of  Ruling  Elders  is 
decisively  gaining  ground,  and  with  the  most 
happy  results ;  and  it  would  also  appear  that 
in  some  congregations,  especially  in  the  latter 
country,  the  plan  of  ordaining  them  by  the 
imposition  of  hands  is  likely  to  come  into 
practice. 

*  Pairc  139. 


120  APPENDIX. 

It  has  been  observed  that  the  entire  omis- 
sion of  the  laying  on  of  hands,  in  ordaining 
RuUng  Elders,  obtains  universally,  in  all  the 
Presbyterian  Churches  on  the  continent  of 
Europe,  as  well  as  in  Scotland.  There  is 
good  evidence  that  the  grand  reason  of  this 
has  been  the  estimate  which  those  Churches 
formed  of  the  temporary  nature  of  the  office. 
Thus  from  the  Compendium  Theologise 
Christianse  of  Marck,  and  from  the  opinion  of 
Frederick  Spanheim,  quoted  with  approba- 
tion by  De  Moor,  the  Commentator  on  JXIarck, 
it  appears  that  all  three  of  these  divines  of  the 
Reformed  Church,  had  no  other  objection  to 
the  laying  on  of  hands  in  the  ordination  of 
Ruling  Elders,  than  that  to  which  a  reference 
has  been  made.* 

The  question  will  of  course  arise,  whose 
hands  are  to  be  laid  on  in  the  ordination  of 
Ruhng  Elders  ?  It  may  be  answered  without 
hesitation,  the  hands  of  the  Pastor,  the  Mode- 
rator, and  all  the  other  members  of  the 
Church  Session.  The  Deacons  cannot  unite 
in  this  solemnity.  They  are  not  spiritual 
officers,  and  of  course,  when  present,  can 

*  De  Moor  Comment.  Perpet.,  torn.  vi.  p.  330. 


APPENDIX.  121 

take  no  part  in  an  act  which  is  one  of  spiri- 
tual authority  in  the  Church. 

When  the  kneeUng  candidate  who  has  re- 
ceived this  imposition  of  hands,  rises  from  his 
knees,  all  the  members  of  the  Session  are,  of 
course,  to  take  him  by  the  hand,  saying, 
according  to  our  Formula,  "  we  give  you 
the  right  hand  of  fellowship  to  take  part  of 
this  office  with  us." — It  is  not  said,  to  "  take 
part  of  this  ^ministry'  with  us,''  as  in  the 
ordination  of  Pastors;  plainly  showing  that 
Teaching  and  Ruling  Elders  were  not  re- 
garded by  the  framers  of  our  Formularies  as 
officers  of  the  same  order. 


NOTE  G. 

RULING   ELDERS    LAYING    ON    HANDS    IN    THE    ORDINATION   OF 
PASTORS. 

The  first  time  that  the  writer  of  this 
manual  ever  read  or  heard,  among  Presby- 
terians, of  a  proposal  that  Ruling  Elders 
should  impose  hands,  with  Teaching  Elders, 
in  the  ordination  of  ministers  of  the  Gospel, 

11 


122  APPENDIX. 

was  in  the  year  1831.  In  that  year  a  friend 
and  Ruling  Elder,  in  the  city  of  Baltimore, 
whom  he  had  long  known  and  highly  esteem- 
ed, in  a  letter  on  the  subject,  expressed  an 
opinion  "that,  as  every  ordination  is  per- 
formed by  a  Presbytery;  as  Ruling  Elders 
are  component  members  of  the  Presbytery, 
when  judicially  assembled;  and  as  'the  laying 
on  of  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery'  is  the  for- 
mal rite  which  at  once  accompanies  and  seals 
the  ordaining  act; — no  good  reason  could  be 
assigned  why  the  Ruling  Elders  were  not  as 
much  entitled  to  participate  in  that  rite,  as 
to  unite  in  the  vote  which  authorized  it." 
As  this  position  was  strongly  stated,  and 
ingeniously  defended,  the  writer  confesses  it 
struck  him  at  first  rather  favourably ;  and  he 
m  a  few  days,  returned  to  his  friend  a  cor- 
responding answer.  When  the  suggestion 
was  first  presented  to  him,  the  idea  which 
struck  him  most  forcibly  was,  that  the  par- 
ticipation contended  for  was  a  mere  ceremo- 
nial, which  could  not  be  supposed  to  be 
practically  important,  either  for  good  or  evil; 
and  therefore,  if  desired  by  any,  scarcely 
worth  opposing.  He  was  aware  indeed,  that 
the  exercise  of  the  right  included  in  this  claim 


APPENDIX.  123 

was  wholly  without  precedent,  so  far  as  he 
knew,  in  any  Presbyterian  Church.  This 
circumstance,  the  more  he  inquired,  led  to 
more  and  more  doubt.  Not  long  afterwards, 
it  began  to  be  reported,  that  one  or  more  of 
our  Western  Presbyteries  had  actually  ad- 
mitted the  claim  in  question;  and  that,  in  all 
their  ordinations,  the  Ruling  Elders  were  in 
the  habit  of  imposing  hands  with  the  Pastors. 
This  circumstance  led  the  present  writer  to  a 
new  examination  of  the  subject;  and  a  num- 
ber of  publications  in  the  West  as  well  as  in 
the  East,  brought  under  his  view  the  prin- 
cipal reasonings,  on  both  sides,  and  enabled 
him  to  judge  of  the  validity  and  safety  of  the 
leading  arguments  by  which  the  advocates 
of  the  new  doctrine  attempted  to  maintain 
their  position.  The  consequence  was  an 
entire  recession  from  the  favourable  opinion 
which  he  had  expressed  to  his  friend  in  Bal- 
timore, and  a  strong  conviction  that  the  new 
claim  could  not  be  defended : — that  it  was 
not  only  contrary  to  all  Presbyterian  practice, 
but  also  to  all  established  Presbyterian  prin- 
ciple; and,  if  generally  admitted,  might  lead 
to  consequences  highly  objectionable. 

In  coming  to  this  decisive  conclusion,  the 


124  APPENDIX. 

reasons  which  presented  themselves  to  his 
mind  were,  among  others,  the  following. 

I.  It  is  perfectly  evident,  from  the  word 
of  God,  and  is  accordingly  recognized  in  our 
Formularies,  that  the  Pastoral  office  is  the 
highest  in  the  Christian  Church;  and  of 
course,  it  ought  to  be  so  exhibited,  in  all 
our  ecclesiastical  proceedings.  Every  thing, 
therefore,  which  tends  to  destroy  all  distinc- 
tion between  Pastors  and  Ruling  Elders ;  to 
hold  them  up  to  view  as  one  in  order  and  in 
power,  tends  in  fact  to  supersede  the  Elder's 
office  in  its  primitive  design  and  function. 
It  was  this  mistake  which  had  nearly  ban- 
ished it  from  the  Church  fourteen  hundred 
years  ago;  and  the  recurrence  of  the  same 
mistake,  if  adopted,  will  result  in  the  same 
calamity  again.  In  all  cases  whatsoever,  this 
office  can  never  occupy  its  appropriate  place, 
nor  render  to  the  Church  its  appropriate  ser- 
vices, when  its  real  nature  is  misapprehend- 
ed, and  when  it  is  confounded  with  another 
and  a  very  different  office.  It  is  evident  that 
the  proposed  innovation  has  a  direct  tendency 
to  destroy  the  scriptural  distinction  between 
the  two  offices,  and  thus  to  produce  great 
ecclesiastical  mischief. 


APPENDIX.  125 

II.  The  undoubted  fact,  that  RuUng  El- 
ders themselves  were  never  ordained  with 
the  imposition  of  hands,  throughout  Presby- 
terian Christendom,  he  considered  as  afford- 
ing itself  conclusive  proof  that  they  did  not, 
and  could  not  have  participated  in  this  rite 
in  the  ordination  of  Pastors.  That  which 
had  made  no  part  of  the  ceremonial  of  their 
own  induction  into  office,  it  was  evident  they 
could  not  regularly  be  allowed  to  partake  in, 
in  investing  others  with  a  different  and  a 
higher  office. 

III.  The  uniform  historical  testimony  on 
this  subject  conducts  us  to  the  same  conclu- 
sion. Throughout  Presbyterian  Christendom, 
a  wide  distinction  has  been  constantly  kept 
up  between  the  offices  of  the  Teaching  and 
Ruling  Elder;  and  with  regard  to  the  claim 
of  the  latter,  to  unite  with  ministers  in  the 
act  of  imposing  hands  in  the  ordination  of 
ministers,  nothing  is  more  certain  than  that, 
since  the  Reformation  from  Popery,  and 
since  the  restoration  and  establishment  of  the 
Ruling  Elder's  office,  no  instance  can  be 
found  either  of  the  claim  or  the  exercise  of 
this  right  in  any  Presbyterian  Church  on 


126  APPENDIX. 

earth,  until  within  a  very  few  years,  in  our 
own  country. 

(1.)  In  the  Church  of  Scotland,  under  the 
First  Book  of  Discipline,  which  occupied  an 
authoritative  place  between  the  years  1560 
and  1578,  no  one  pretends  that  Ruling  Elders 
laid  on  hands  in  the  ordination  of  ministers. 
The  fact  is  known  to  be  that  in  the  "  First 
Book  of  Discipline,"  and  during  its  reign, 
there  was  no  laying  on  of  hands  by  any  one, 
in  the  ordination  even  of  ministers.  During 
that  time,  this  rite  was  repudiated  as  unneces- 
sary, if  not  improper.  It  was  supposed  to 
be  founded,  in  the  apostolic  age,  and  the 
miraculous  gifts  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  and,  of 
course,  as  inappropriate  and  unsuitable  when 
those  gifts  were  considered  as  no  longer  im- 
parted. Concerning  this  period,  then,  there 
is  no  need  of  adding  another  word.  No  one 
has  ever  ventured  to  assert,  that,  during  that 
period.  Ruling  Elders  either  claimed  or  exer- 
cised the  right  in  question. 

(2.)  It  is  equally  certain  that  the  same  thing 
may  be  made  out  as  to  the  period  under  the 
Second  Book  of  Discipline  ;  that  is,  that  from 
the  formation  of  that  book  in  157S,  until  the 


APPENDIX.  127 

meeting  of  the  Westminster  Assembly,  in 
1643,  both  the  claim  and  the  exercise  of  this 
right  were  unknown  in  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land. The  contrary,  indeed,  has  been  assert- 
ed with  great  confidence,  but  without  any 
solid  foundation ;  nay,  in  the  face  of  conclu- 
sive testimony.  On  this  subject,  no  witness 
will  be  accounted  either  more  competent  or 
more  credible  than  the  celebrated  David 
Calderwood,  the  venerable  historian  of  the 
Church  of  Scotland,  whose  piety,  talents, 
learning,  and  indefatigable  labours  and  suffer- 
higs  for  that  Church,  are  universally  known. 
The  Altare  Damascenum  of  this  truly  great 
man  was  published  in  1623;  of  course,  just 
twenty  years  before  the  Westminster  Assem- 
bly met,  and  while  the  writer  was  under  a 
sentence  of  banishment  in  Holland,  for  his 
fidelity  to  the  Presbyterian  cause. 

The  Altare  Damasceimm  is  a  controversial 
work,  directed  to  the  refutation  of  many  ad- 
versaries. Among  these,  Tilenus,  once  a 
Presbyterian  and  Calvinistic  Professor  in  the 
Seminary  at  Sedan,  but  then  an  apostate, 
bitterly  and  blindly  bigoted  against  all  that 
he  had  formerly  espoused,  was  one  of  the 
most  forward  and  conspicuous.    Tilenus  had 


128  APPENDIX. 

objected  to  the  Presbyterian  system,  because 
Ruling  Elders  were  not  considered  as  having 
a  right  to  lay  on  hands  in  ordination ;  that 
they  were  members  of  the  Presbytery,  and 
yet,  in  an  ordination  performed  by  the  Pres- 
bytery, were  not  allowed  to  take  part  in  this 
act.  C  alder  wood  explicitly  admits  the  fact 
that  they  did  not  partake  in  this  act;  but 
denies  the  consequence  which  Tilenus  draws 
from  it.  He  contends  that  Elders  might,  if 
there  were  any  necessity  for  it,  lay  on  hands, 
without  infringing  any  essential  principle ;  as 
in  his  opinion,  that  act  was  not  an  essential 
part  of  ordination,  and  did  not  really  convey 
in  itself  either  authority  or  grace.  But  he 
adds, "  I  concede  that  that  imposition  of  hands 
which  is  joined  with  prayer  and  benediction, 
is  confined  to  Pastors  or  Teaching  Elders 
only.  Nevertheless,  as  a  sign  of  consent,  and 
assistance,  the  Ruling  Elders  also  might  lay 
on  hands.  They  do  not  lay  them  on,  because 
it  is  not  necessary ;  nor,  indeed,  do  all  the 
Co-Presbyters  of  any  one  Classis  lay  on  hands, 
but  only  a  part  in  the  name  of  the  rest.  Even 
one  might  act  in  the  name  of  all." 

"Finally,"  says  Calderwood,  "though  we 
should  grant  this  act  (the  laying  on  of  hands) 


APPENDIX.  129 

to  be  a  sacrament,  and  that  the  adminis- 
trators of  this  sacrament  are  Pastor-Presby- 
ters only,  still  the  others  will  not  thereby  be 
excluded  from  the  Presbytery,  (1  Tim.  iv.  14,) 
because  the  laying  on  of  hands  does  not  be- 
long to  them ;  for  the  imposition  of  hands 
may  be  called  the  "  imposition  of  the  hands 
of  the  Presbytery,'^  although  each  and  every 
one  of  the  Presbytery  have  not  the  power 
of  imposing  hands.  It  is  enough  that  the 
leading  part  of  the  Presbytery  have  that 
power,  just  as  the  tribe  of  Levi  is  said  to 
ofl^r  incense,  when  it  was  the  prerogative 
of  the  priests  only."* 

The  same  fact  which  is  ascertained  by  the 
Altare  Damascenum  is  also  established  in  the 
History  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  by  the 
same  illustrious  author. 

These  passages  clearly  establish  the  fact, 
that,  in  the  Church  of  Scotland,  under  the 
Second  Book  of  Discipline,  Ruling  Elders 
did  not  lay  on  hands  in  the  ordination  of 
ministers ;  and  they  also  prove  that  in  the 
opinion  of  Calderwood,  there  was  no  impro- 
priety in  speaking  of  ordinations  as  performed 

*  Altare  Damascenum,  p.  689. 


130  APPENDIX. 

"by  the  laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  Pres- 
bytery/^ while  only  one  class  of  the  members 
of  the  Presbytery  were  empowered  to  im- 
pose hands.  It  is  no  argument,  then,  in  fa- 
vour of  the  claim  which  we  oppose,  that  it 
is  stated,  in  the  Second  Book  of  Discipline, 
when  speaking  of  the  ordination  of  ministers, 
that  it  was  to  be  performed  by  the  "  laying 
on  of  the  hands  of  the  Eldership."  In  other 
parts  of  the  same  Formulary,  the  "Elder- 
ship" is  represented  as  embracing  both 
Teaching  and  Ruling  Elders.  In  fact,  it  is 
equivalent,  as  there  used,  to  the  term  "  Pres- 
bytery." According  to  Calderwood's  for- 
mal explanation,  then,  there  is  no  inconsist- 
ency in  speaking  of  an  ordination  as  perform- 
ed by  the  Eldership,  when  only  one  class  of 
the  Elders  could  take  part  in  the  external 
rite ;  and  of  course  no  inconsistency  in  speak- 
ing of  an  ordination  as  performed  by  the 
"laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery," 
when  only  the  preaching  part  of  that  body 
take  part  in  the  act. 

Lest  it  should  be  imagined  that  this  array 
of  testimony  is  the  product  of  American  party 
prejudice,  the  following  communication,  from 
the  pen  of  one  of  the   most  accomplished 


APPENDIX.  131 

ecclesiastical  antiquaries  of  Scotland,  now 
living,  lately  received,  will  banish  all  doubt 
from  the  mind  of  every  candid  reader. 

"  The  first  question  is,  '  Did  the  Ruling 
Elders  of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  under  the 
Second  Book  of  Discipline,  ever,  in  fact,  lay 
on  hands  in  the  ordination  of  Pastors?' 
As  the  question  refers  to  matter  of  fact,  it 
is  unnecessary  to  enter  into  any  examination 
of  the  Second  Book  of  Discipline  itself,  which, 
in  my  humble  opinion,  gives  no  countenance 
to  the  notion  that  Ruling  Elders  should  lay 
on  hands  in  ordination,  any  more  than  that 
they  should  preach  the  sermon,  or  offer  up 
the  ordination  prayer.  In  point  of  fact,  I  do 
not  remember  any  instance  in  which  such  a 
practice  was  observed  under  the  Second  Book 
of  Discipline ;  and  I  have  had  frequent  oppor- 
tunities of  examining,  with  this  or  similar 
objects  in  view,  such  works  as  Calderwood's 
Larger  History ;  '  The  Book  of  the  Universal 
Kirk;'  Scott's  MSS.  in  the  Advocate's  Li- 
brary, (in  which  he  gives  frequent  notices  of 
the  election  of  Elders  and  Deacons,  during 
both  periods  of  the  Reformation,)  and  the 
other  documents  of  that  period. 

"  But  the  best  way  of  arriving  at  satisfac- 


132  APPENDIX. 

tion  on  this  point  is  by  consulting  the  writ- 
ings of  our  Reformers,  who  have  treated 
expressly  of  the  subject.  The  first  authority 
I  may  cite  is  that  of  the  celebrated  Alexan- 
der Henderson,  in  the  treatise  which  it  is 
well  ascertained  was  written  by  him,  and 
published  in  the  year  1641,  two  years  before 
the  Westminster  Assembly  sat  down,  entitled 
'  The  Government  and  Order  of  the  Church 
of  Scotland.'  In  this  treatise,  which  was 
written  for  the  information  of  the  English, 
and  contains  minute  details  of  the  practice 
observed  at  ordinations,  he  says,  section,  II., 
when  speaking  of  the  ordination  of  Minis- 
ters— ^  The  Minister  cometh  from  the  Pulpit, 
and,  with  as  many  of  the  Ministers  present 
as  may  conveniently  come  near,  lay  their 
hands  upon  his  head,  and,  in  the  name  of 
Jesus,  do  appoint  him  to  be  the  pastor  of  that 
people.' 

"  In  another  treatise,  by  the  well  known 
Samuel  Rutherford,  entitled,  'A  peaceable 
Plea  for  Paul's  Presbytery  in  Scotland,'  and 
published  in  1642,  the  same  fact  is  repeatedly 
brought  out,  and  the  practice  defended  on 
scriptural  grounds,  as  well  as  the  nature  of 
the    ministerial    office.      He    says,  '  Every 


APPENDIX.  133 

where,  in  the  word,  where  pastors  and  elders 
are  created,  there  they  are  ordained  by  Pas- 
tors.' p.  37.  '  Ordination  of  pastors  is  never 
given  to  people,  or  believers,  or  to  Ruling 
Elders,  but  still  to  Pastors,  as  is  clear  from  1 
Tim.  V.  22 ;  Titus  i.  5 ;  Acts  vi.  6.  Acts  xiii. 
3;  2  Tim  i.  6;  1  Tim.  iv.  14.'  p.  190.  In 
this  treatise  Rutherford  argues  on  the  princi- 
ple that  if  believers,  who  are  not  pastors  may 
ordain  pastors,  they  may  again  depose  and 
excommunicate,  which,  says  he,  'are  the 
highest  acts  of  jurisdiction;  and  then  may 
they  preach  and  baptize,  not  being  called 
ministers ;  then  may  the  Sacraments  be  ad- 
ministrate, where  there  are  no  pastors,  which 
is  absurd,  even  to  the  separatists  themselves.' 
p.  57. 

"  To  these  authorities  I  may  be  permitted 
to  add  that  of  James  Guthrie,  of  Sterling, 
who,  in  his  treatise  of  Elders  and  Deacons, 
observes — '  Howbeit  the  execution  of  some 
decrees  of  the  Church  Assemblies,  such  as 
the  imposition  of  hands — the  pronouncing 
the  sentence  of  excommunication — the  receiv- 
ing penitents — the  intimation  of  the  deposi- 
tion of  Ministers,  and  such  like,  do  belong  to 
Minsiters  alone."*     Guthrie  follows  through- 


134  APPENDIX. 

out  the  rules  laid  down  in  the  first  and 
second  Books  of  Discipline.  I  am  not  aware 
that  in  the  matter  of  ordmation,  there  was 
the  slightest  variation  made  from  the  order 
of  these  books,  after  the  Westminster  Assem- 
bly, which  affected  the  point  in  question. 

"  The  Second  question  is — '  Were  Ruling 
Elders  themselves,  at  any  period  of  the  his- 
tory of  the  Church  of  Scotland,  set  apart  to 
their  own  office  by  the  imposition  of  hands.?' 
On  this  point  the  evidence,  1  think,  is  equally 
clear  that  they  were  not  then,  and  never 
have  been  so  set  apart.  In  the  treatise  former- 
ly mentioned,  Alexander  Henderson,  when 
treating  of  Elders  and  Deacons,  says — '  when 
the  day  of  their  admission  cometh,  the  Pas- 
tor, having  framed  his  doctrine  to  the  pur- 
pose, calleth  them  up,  and  remembering  both 
them  of  their  duty  in  their  charge,  and  the 
people  of  their  submitting  themselves  unto 
them,  they  are  solemnly  received  with  lifted 
up  hands,  giving  their  promise  to  be  faith- 
ful' Mr.  James  Guthrie,  in  his  treatise, 
says — '  their  admission  is  to  be  by  the  Min- 
ister of  the  congregation,  or  one  appointed 
by  the  Presbytery,  in  the  presence  of  the 
whole  congregation,  with  the  preaching  of  the 


APPENDIX.  135 

word  concerning  their  duty,  and  with  prayer 
and  humiliation  concerning  the  spirit  of  their 
caUing  to  be  poured  out  upon  them,  &c.;  at 
which  time  they  are  solemnly  to  engage 
themselves,  before  the  Lord,  to  be  faithful 
&c.'  There  is  no  mention  of  imposition  of 
hands,  and  in  the  margin  he  refers  to  the 
^  manner  of  electing  and  admitting  Ministers 
and  Elders  prefixed  to  the  Old  Psalm  Book,' 
viz.  the  order  adopted  at  the  beginning  of  the 
Reformation,  from  which  it  appears  that  no 
such  practice  as  that  of  ordaining  Elders  with 
imposition  of  hands,  was  known  in  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  from  1560  down  at  least  to  1650, 
about  which  time  Guthrie  wrote  his  trea- 
tise. 

"  The  same  views  are  held  by  George 
Gillespie  in  his  '  Aaron's  Rod  Blossoming,' 
and  in  his  '  Miscellany  Questions.' 

"I  am  not  aware  of  any  Presbyterian 
body  whose  Ruling  Elders  are,  or  ever  were, 
in  the  habit  of  imposing  hands  in  the  ordi- 
nation of  Ministers.  The  subject,  I  under- 
stand, has  been  agitated  in  the  Presbyterian 
Churches  of  England,  and  Ireland;  and  Mr. 
Lorimer,  of  Glasgow,  states,  in  his  late  publi- 
cation on  the  Eldership,  that  it  is  contem- 


136  APPENDIX. 

plated,  in  the  Irish  Church,  to  set  Elders 
apart  to  their  office  in  this  way.  But  I  do 
not  recollect  of  ever  hearing  it  mooted,  in  any 
quarter,  to  permit  Ruling  Elders  to  impose 
hands  on  Ministers.  The  raising  of  such  a 
question  may  be  viewed  in  one  respect  as 
indicating  the  revival  of  a  strong  Presbyte- 
rian spirit,  though  somewhat  in  the  Puseyite 
direction-,  while,  in  another  respect,  it  ap- 
pears to  me  inconsistent  with  Presbyterian- 
ism,  and  verging  towards  Independency." 

I  forbear  to  pursue  the  course  of  historical 
testimony  further.  To  suppose  more  neces- 
sary, would  be  to  insult  the  understanding 
of  the  reader.  If  there  be  truth  in  human 
testimony.  Ruling  Elders  never  laid  on  hands 
in  the  ordination  of  Ministers,  in  the  Church 
of  Scotland,  at  any  period  of  her  history. 

(3.)  In  the  acts  of  the  Westminster  As- 
sembly the  testimony  borne  on  this  subject 
is  perfectly  clear  and  explicit,  and  goes  to 
establish  the  same  conclusion.  Concerning 
this  point  all  are  agreed.  Nothing  can  be 
more  unequivocal  and  decisive  than  the 
rule  as  laid  down  by  that  venerable  body. 
It  is  in  the  following  words :  "  Every  minis- 
ter of  the  word  is  to  be  ordained  by  imposi- 


APPENDIX.  137 

tion  of  hands,  and  prayer  and  fasting,  by 
those  Freaching  Presbyters  to  whom  it  doth 
belong.  1  Tim.  v.  22  \  Acts  xiv.  23;  and 
Acts  xiii.  3." 

True,  there  were  in  that  Assembly  some 
who  thought  that  Ruling  Elders  ought  to  lay 
on  hands  in  the  ordination  of  Pastors,  and 
who  contended  for  it.  But  who  were  they  ? 
Not  Presbyterians,  but  Independents,  who 
took  an  entirely  erroneous  view  of  the  nature 
of  the  office  of  the  Ruling  Elder,  and  who 
gave  it  a  place  in  their  system  altogether  dif- 
ferent from  that  which  it  occupies  in  ours. 
Even  these,  however,  were  very  few  in  num- 
ber, and  their  wishes  were  overruled  by  a 
great  majority  of  the  Assembly. 

It  has  been  asserted,  indeed,  that  the 
Westminster  Assembly  decided  the  question, 
whether  Ruling  Elders  ought  to  lay  on  hands 
in  the  ordination  of  Pastors,  differently  at 
two  different  times ;  at  one  sitting,  affirma- 
tively, and  at  another,  negatively.  This  is  a 
mistake.  They  never  decided  it  in  more  than 
one  way,  and  that  was  negatively. 

Some  have  said,  indeed,  that  the  Delegates 
from  the  Church  of  Scotland  in  the  West- 
minster Assembly   were   overruled  in  this 

12 


138  .  APPENDIX. 

matter;  that  they  had  been  accustomed  to  a 
different  plan  of  ordaining  Pastors  from  that 
which  the  Assembly  sanctioned ;  and  that 
they  gave  up  their  old  habits,  and  yielded 
their  prejudices  for  the  sake  of  harmony. 
But  there  is  not  a  shadow  of  pretext  for  this 
allegation.  We  have  seen  evidence  alto- 
gether unquestionable  that  the  practice  al- 
luded to  had  never,  at  any  period,  obtained 
in  the  Church  of  Scotland;  and  of  course  that 
all  the  habits  of  the  Scotch  members  of  the 
Westminster  Assembly  were  entirely  in  har- 
mony with  the  rule  which  the  Assembly  ulti- 
mately adopted.  We  have  too  much  proof, 
indeed,  of  the  powerful  influence  which  the 
Scotch  divines  who  sat  in  that  body  always 
maintained,  to  admit  the  thought  that  they 
were  overborne  in  this  particular.  But  the 
fact  is,  they  had  nothing  as  to  this  point  to. 
yield.  They  had  always  been  accustomed 
to  the  precise  principle  and  practice  which 
the  acts  of  the  venerable  Assembly  sanc- 
tioned. 

In  examining  the  chain  of  testimony  on 
the  subject  in  question,  it  may  not  be  im- 
proper to  pause  here  and  reflect  on  the  wis- 
dom and  piety  of  the  Westminster  Assembly, 


APPENDIX.  139 

which  the  whole  evangehcal  world  has  so 
much  reason  to  remember  with  veneration, 
and  to  which  the  Presbyterian  Church  espe- 
cially owes  so  large  a  debt  of  gratitude.  Pro- 
bably no  body  of  divines  ever  convened, 
since  the  days  of  inspiration,  of  more  sound 
and  sober  minds,  of  richer  biblical  and  theo- 
logical knowledge,  and  of  more  thorough  de- 
votedness  to  the  cause  of  God  and  to  the  dic- 
tates of  his  word.  Standing  as  they  did  at  the 
confluence  of  so  many  channels  of  information 
concerning  the  whole  Presbyterian  world, 
surely  their  decisions  concerning  the  functions 
and  rights  of  the  office  under  consideration, 
are  entitled  to  our  unfeigned  respect.  All 
their  works  testify  that  they  took  no  narrow 
or  hasty  view  of  any  part  of  the  Presby- 
terian system ;  and,  therefore,  when  they, 
with  so  comprehensive  a  view  of  Presby- 
terian practice  in  regard  to  this  matter,  de- 
cided that  none  but  "  Preaching  Presbyters'^ 
could  with  propriety  lay  on  hands  in  the  ordi- 
nation of  "Preaching  Presbyters,"  their  judg- 
ment is  surely  entitled  to  the  most  respectful 
consideration.  As  a  part  of  the  chain  of  his- 
torical proof,  it  is  perfectly  conclusive. 
(4.)  With  the    uniform    practice    of  the 


140  APPENDIX. 

Church  of  Scotland,  and  the  decisive  judg- 
ment of  the  Westminster  Assembly,  the  re- 
corded opinion  of  the  venerable  Calvin  per- 
fectly harmonized.  Calvin's  language  on 
this  subject  is  too  explicit  and  pointed  to  be 
controverted  for  a  momeut.  "  The  impo- 
sition of  hands  in  the  ordination  of  ministers 
is  confined  to  Pastors  alone."  (Instit.  lib.  iv. 
cap.  iii.  sect.  16.) 

(5.)  With  Calvin's  judgment,  and  the  uni- 
form practice  of  the  Church  in  Geneva,  the 
judgment  and  practice  of  the  French  Protes- 
tant Churches,  throughout  their  whole  his- 
tory, perfectly  corresponded.  This  is  expli- 
citly attested  in  the  "  Government  and  Dis- 
cipline of  the  Reformed  Churches  of  France," 
as  found  in  Quick's  Synodicon  in  Gallia  Re- 
formata,  chap.  in.  From  this  Constitution  of 
the  French  Churches  it  is  also  apparent,  not 
only  that  Ruling  Elders  never  laid  on  their 
hands  in  the  ordination  of  Pastors ;  but  also 
that  in  the  ordination  of  Elders  and  Deacons 
there  was  never  any  imposition  of  hands. 

(6.)  The  same  may  be  said  of  the  Church 
of  Holland,  whose  early  and  stedfast  adhe- 
rence to  strict  Presbyterian  principles  is 
well  known.     All  their  public  Form.ularies, 


APPENDIX.  141 

whether  earlier  or  later;  whether  in  relation 
to  their  Churches  in  Europe,  or  transplanted 
to  this  country,  uniformly  attest,  that  preach- 
ing Presbyters  alone  were  in  the  habit  of 
imposing  hands  in  the  ordination  of  Minis- 
ters of  the  Gospel.  So  far  as  the  testimony 
of  these  documents  goes,  the  participation  of 
Ruling  Elders  in  this  act,  was  never  thought 
of  or  proposed. 

(7.)  The  same  may  be  alleged  of  all  the 
Presbyterian  Churches  on  the  continent  of 
Europe.  There  is  no  part  of  their  practice 
in  regard  to  which  they  have  been,  from  the 
beginning,  more  palpably  and  perfectly  uni- 
form, than  in  confining  this  part  of  the  ordain- 
ing act  to  Ministers  of  the  Gospel  alone.  It 
is  firmly  believed,  and  confidently  asserted, 
that  not  a  shadow  of  evidence  can  be  pro- 
duced that  the  modern  claim  on  this  subject 
was  ever  recognized  or  proposed  in  any  one 
of  the  continental  Churches. 

So  far,  then,  as  the  practice  of  the  Presby- 
terian Churches  of  Europe  goes,  it  has  been 
universal  and  uniform.  No  instance  can  be 
produced  of  Ruling  Elders  being,  in  any  case, 
ordained  themselves  with  the  imposition  of 


142  APPENDIX. 

hands;  or  taking  any  part  in  this  act  in  the 
ordination  of  Ministers  of  the  Gospel. 

(8.)  When  the  Presbyterian  system  Avas 
transferred,  by  our  venerable  Fathers,  from 
Great  Britain  to  this  country,  the  same  prac- 
tice which  had  prevailed  in  Scotland,  and  in 
all  the  other  Reformed  Churches,  in  regard 
to  the  point  in  questioki,  was  brought  and 
established  on  this  side  of  the  Atlantic.  Every 
one  who  has  the  slightest  knowledge  of 
our  history,  knows  and  acknowledges  that, 
from  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century 
when  our  first  Presbytery  was  formed,  to  the 
year  1788,  when  our  present  constitution 
was  formed,  the  imposition  of  hands  was 
never  employed  in  the  ordination  of  Elders, 
nor  were  they  ever  known  to  unite  with 
Pastors  in  the  "  laying  on  of  hands"  in  the 
act  of  ordaining  Pastors.  These  facts  are  so 
well  known,  and  so  universally  acknowledg- 
ed, that  it  is  unnecessary  to  add  another  word 
for  proving  their  truth. 

So  far,  then,  as  historical  testimony  goes,  it 
is  demonstrably  perfect.  It  is  believed  that 
in  regard  to  no  point  of  ecclesiastical  order 
has  there   been  more   entire   agreement  in 


APPENDIX.  143 

theory,  or  more  complete  uniformity  of  prac- 
tice, throughout  Presbyterian  Christendom, 
for  more  than  three  hundred  years,  than  in 
exchiding  all  but  Ministers  from  laying  on  of 
hands  in  the  ordination  of  Ministers.  We 
may  confidently  pronounce  that  the  whole 
annals  of  regular  Presbyterianism,  both  for- 
eign and  domestic,  will  be  searched  in  vain 
for  a  single  instance  of  a  contrary  kind. 

But  it  is  said,  by  the  advocates  of  the  new 
doctrine,  that  the  language  of  our  present 
Constitution  formed  in  1788,  very  clearly 
gives  to  the  Ruling  Elders  the  power  for 
which  they  contend,  and  that  it  was  so  framed 
by  the  venerable  men  who  drafted  it  with 
the  express  design  of  departing  from  the  old 
Scotch  model,  and  giving  this  power  to  the 
Elders.  The  language  which  is  alleged  to 
convey  this  power  is  the  following.  "  The 
candidate  shall  kneel  down  in  the  most  con- 
venient part  of  the  Church.  Then  the  pre- 
siding Minister  shall,  by  prayer,  and  with  the 
laying  on  of  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery,  ac- 
cording to  the  Apostolic  example,  solemnly 
ordain  him  to  the  holy  office  of  the  Gospel 
Ministry.  Prayer  being  ended,  he  shall  rise 
from  his  knees;  and  the  Minister  who  pre- 


144  APPENDIX. 

sided  shall  first,  and  afterwards  all  the  mem- 
bers of  the  Presbytery  in  their  order,  take  him 
by  the  right  hand,  saying,  in  words  to  this 
purpose, '  We  give  you  the  right  hand  of  fel- 
lowship, to  take  part  of  this  Ministry  with 
us.'  "   Form  of  Government,  Chapter  xv. 

"  Now,"  say  the  advocates  of  the  new 
claim — "  nothing  can  be  plainer  than  that  the 
privilege  of  laying  on  hands,  with  the  Minis- 
ters, is  here  expressly  given  to  the  Ruling 
Elders  in  every  ordination.  They  are  ex- 
pressly declared,  in  Chapter  x.  to  be  members 
of  the  Presbytery ;  and  the  ordination  of  every 
Minister  is  said  to  be  '  with  the  laying  on  of 
the  hands  of  the  Presbytery.'  Upon  what 
principle,  then,  can  we  exclude  from  this  act 
any  who  confessedly  belong  to  the  Presby- 
tery? But,  as  if  to  preclude  all  doubt,  it  is 
said,  that  when  the  candidate  rises  from  his 
knees,  the  Minister  who  presides,  shall  first, 
and  afterwards  all  the  members  of  the  Pres- 
bytery in  their  order,  take  him  by  the  right 
hand,  saying  '  We  give  you  the  right  hand 
of  fellowship  to  take  part  of  this  Minis- 
try with  us.'  Now  is  it  not  evident  here, 
say  they,  upon  every  principle  of  construc- 
tion, that  the  imposition  of  hands,  and  the 


APPENDIX.  145 

address  to  the  candidate,  on  rising  from  his 
knees,  belong  equally  to  every  member  of 
the  Presbytery?"  Such  is  the  reasoning  con- 
stantly and  confidently  adopted  by  the  friends 
of  the  new  theory. 

That  those  who  employ  this  reasoning  do 
not  legitimately  interpret  the  language  of  our 
Book,  is  evident  from  the  following  conside- 
rations. 

(1.)  The  phrase — "members  of  the  Pres- 
bytery" is,  undoubtedly,  often  employed  in 
our  Form  of  Government,  and  evidently  in 
this  place,  to  signify  none  others  than  the 
Ministers,  who  are  its  permanent  members. 
Were  any  one  to  ask — who  are  the  members 
of  the  Presbytery  of  Philadelphia,  when  that 
body  is  not  in  session?  every  one  knows 
that  the  question  would  be  answered,  by  giv- 
ing the  names  of  the  Ministers  alone,  who 
belong  to  it  whether  in  session  or  not.  The 
Elders,  who  occupy  seats  in  it,  when  actually 
convened,  cease  to  be  members  of  the  body 
the  moment  it  adjourns,  and  may  not  be 
members  again  for  a  number  of  years.  The 
meaning  in  this  case,  then,  obviously  is,  that 
every  permanent,  every  ministerial  member 
of  the  Presbytery  shall  lay  his  hand  on  the 

1  o 


146  APPENDIX. 

head  of  the  candidate,  and  shall  take  liim  by 
the  hand,  when  he  rises  from  his  knees. 

(2.)  It  is  evident  that  the  phrase,  "  the  lay- 
ing on  of  the  hands  of  the  Presbytery,"  has 
been  constantly  used,  for  more  than  three 
hundred  years,  by  all  the  Reformed  Churches, 
while  in  none  of  them  did  the  Ruling  Elders 
participate  in  this  rite.  This  fact  is  notorious ; 
and  we  have  seen,  in  a  preceding  page,  that 
the  learned  and  pious  Calderwood,  while  he 
asserts  that  the  Ruling  Elders  did  not,  in  fact, 
lay  on  hands  in  ordaining  Pastors,  yet  con- 
tends that  it  is  strictly  proper  to  say  that  the 
ordaining  act  is  performed  "  by  the  Presby- 
tery," though  only  a  part  of  the  body  par- 
ticipate in  it;  and  at  once  justifies  and  illus- 
trates his  position,  by  appealing  to  the  lan- 
guage, in  an  analogous  case,  under  the  Old 
Testament  economy. 

(3.)  But  it  is  impossible  legitimately  to 
construe  the  language  of  our  Formulary,  as 
the  advocates  of  the  new  doctrine  do ;  for  it 
is  said  that  every  member  of  the  Presbytery, 
when  the  candidate  rises  from  his  knees, 
shall  take  him  by  the  hand,  saying,  "We 
give  you  the  right  hand  of  fellowship  to  take 
part  of  this  ministry  with  us."    If  there  were 


APPENDIX.  147 

nothing  else  to  limit  the  application  of  the 
clause  to  the  Preaching  Presbyters  alone,  this 
plainly  and  indubitably  does  it.  Ruling  Elders 
are  no  where  in  our  Formularies,  called  minis- 
ters, or  their  office  a  ministry.  They  do  not 
bear  the  same  office  with  Ministers  of  the 
Gospel;  how,  then,  can  they  say  to  them, 
"  We  give  you  the  right  hand  of  fellowship 
to  take  part  of  this  ministry  with  us  ?  Have 
the  Ruling  Elders,  the  same  ministry  with 
that  which  Pastors  receive  in  ordination? 
This  is  not  pretended  by  the  majority  of  the 
advocates  of  the  new  doctrine.  If  not,  how 
can  they  with  propriety  speak  of  sharing 
with  them  their  ministry?  How  can  the 
former  impart  to  the  latter  a  ministry,  or  a 
commission,  which  they  have  never  received 
themselves  ? 

(4.)  But  that  the  language  of  our  Formu- 
lary cannot  possibly  be  interpreted  as  the 
advocates  of  the  new  doctrine  insist  upon 
doing,  is  perfectly  evident  from  the  practice 
of  those  who  framed  that  language.  Our 
opponents  in  this  matter  tell  us  that  our  fa- 
thers, in  forming  our  present  Constitution,  de- 
signedly departed  from  the  model  of  Scotland, 
and  instead  of  saying,  as  our  Scottish  ances- 


148  APPENDIX. 

tors  had  donej  that  the  imposition  of  hands 
was  to  be  made  by  the  "  Preaching  Presby- 
ters" alone,  intentionally  employed  language 
which  assigns  this  rite  to  "  every  member" 
of  the  Presbytery;  and  they  assure  us  that 
this  change  of  language  was  expressly  in- 
tended to  sanction  and  introduce  a  practice 
different  from  that  of  our  Scottish  fathers. 
To  refute  this  allegation  nothing  more  is  ne- 
cessary than  to  ask,  whether  the  venerable 
men  who  made  this  change  of  language,  ever 
did,  in  fact,  introduce  the  practice  for  which 
our  opponents  tell  us  it  was  intended  to  pro- 
vide? It  is  perfectly  notorious  that  they 
never  did.  But  if  they  really  meant  to  pave 
the  way  for  a  new  practice,  why  was  such  a 
practice  not  only  never  introduced,  but  never 
so  much  as  proposed  or  heard  of,  for  more 
than  half  a  century  afterwards  ?  Were  they 
so  stupid  as  entirely  to  forget  their  own  pur- 
pose ;  or  so  wanting  in  integrity,  as  to  say  one 
thing,  and  mean  and  do  another  ?  How  any 
thinking,  candid  advocate  of  the  new  scheme, 
can  imagine  that  the  wise  and  pious  framers 
of  our  Constitution,  deliberately  modified  the 
Formula  for  the  express  purpose  of  making 
a  change  in  practice,  which  yet  they  never 


APPENDIX.  149 

did,  in  any  single  instance,  adopt  or  propose, 
is,  indeed,  one  of  the  most  marvellous  of  all 
imaginations ! 

The  inference  from  all  these  considerations 
is,  that  the  Formula  in  our  Constitution,  on 
which  so  much  reliance  has  been  placed  for 
establishing  the  new  doctrine  concerning 
Elders,  when  candidly  examined,  and  com- 
pared with  other  parts  of  our  form  of  govern- 
ment, does  not  really  afford  the  least  counte- 
nance to  that  doctrine,  but  rather  amply  sus- 
tains the  old  practice. 

IV.  It  is  obvious  that  the  practical  adop- 
tion of  the  new  doctrine,  even  by  a  small 
portion  of  our  judicatories,  may  lead  to  dis- 
order and  disunion,  and  produce  an  amount 
of ''ecclesiastical  mischief  greatly  to  be  de- 
plored. It  has  been  already  said,  that  the 
native  tendency  of  the  new  doctrine  is  to  do 
away  all  palpable  and  popular  distinction 
between  Teaching  and  Ruling  Elders.  Few 
of  the  friends  of  the  new  scheme  would  now 
be  willing  to  say,  that  ministers  of  the  Gospel 
might  be  ordained,  if  not  as  regularly,  yet 
quite  as  validly  by  the  Session  of  a  single 
Church,  as  by  a  Presbytery.  But  surely  if 
their  fundamental  principle  be  admitted,  viz., 


150  APPENDIX. 

that  Ruling  Elders  have  the  same  plenary 
ordaining  power  with  ministers  "  of  the  word 
and  doctrine;"  then  it  is  not  easy  to  see  why 
this  consequence  may  not,  nay,  must  not  fol- 
low.    Only  let  the   doctrine  and  practice, 
which  we  oppose,  he  once  established,  and 
the  doctrine   and  practice  of  the  Sessional 
ordination  of  ministers  will  ultimately  but 
inevitably  follow  in  its  train.     Only  yield  to 
them  their  primary  postulate,  and  they  will 
not  be  able  themselves,  if  they  would,  to 
avert  the  consequence  which  I  have  stated. 
Nor  is  this  the  only  mischief  to  be  ap- 
prehended.    There  are  large  bodies  of  Pres- 
byterians in  the  United  States,  as  well  as  in 
the  old  world,  who  have  adopted  the  same 
public  standards,  and  bear  the  same  general 
denomination  with  ourselves.     Would  it  be 
wise,  by  adopting  the  innovation  of  which 
we   speak,  concerning  a  point  universally 
established  among  them  all,  to  impair  their 
respect  and  confidence  ?    This  consideration, 
indeed  ought  not  to  weigh  a  feather  against 
any  thing  which  the  word  of  God  enjoins. 
But,  surely,  without  such  warrant,  it  is  un- 
desirable, by  removing  the  landmarks  of  our 
fathers,  to  raise  barriers  between  ourselves 


APPENDIX.  151 

and  sister  Churches;  especially  when  they 
are  sustained  by  the  universal  and  uniform 
practice  of  centuries. 

But  departing  from  the  practice  of  sister 
Churches,  is  not  so  great  an  evil  as  discord 
and  disunion  among  ourselves.  We  congra- 
tulate ourselves,  as  Presbyterians,  on  having 
a  system  which  binds  all  the  parts  of  our 
whole  Church  together  in  one  harmonious 
plan  of  doctrine,  government  and  discipline. 
So  that  any  brother,  whether  Minister,  Elder, 
or  private  member,  who  shall  remove  from 
one  part  of  our  bounds  to  another,  feels  sure 
of  meeting,  everywhere  with  the  same  rules, 
and  the  same  general  practice.  It  is  perfectly 
manifest,  as  far  as  the  experiment  has  yet 
been  made,  that  a  large  majority  of  our  be- 
loved Church  is  decidedly  adverse  to  the  pro- 
posed innovation.  And  yet  we  are  told,  that 
there  are  Presbyteries  who  have  actually 
adopted  that  innovation,  and  practised  upon 
it;  and  that  there  are  Ministers  and  Elders 
who,  impatient  of  waiting  until  their  object 
can  be  attained  with  the  consent  of  the  whole 
Church,  and  by  the  adoption  of  a  general 
rule,  have  expressed  a  determination  either 
not  to  attend  the  judicatories  of  the  Church 


152  APPENDIX. 

at  all,  or  to  go  forward  and  assume  the  right 
contended  for,  without  permission.  It  is  to 
be  regretted  that  such  a  spirit  as  this  should 
find  any  place  in  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
It  is  especially  to  be  regretted  that  brethren 
claiming  to  be,  by  way  of  eminence,  consis- 
tent Presbyterians,  should  cherish  such  a 
spirit  themselves,  and  take  pains  to  foment 
and  encourage  it  in  others.  Where  such  a 
spirit  reigns,  order,  peace  and  edification  can- 
not dwell.  Is  it  worth  while  to  distract  and 
divide  the  Church  by  keeping  up  a  contro- 
versy, for  the  sake  of  controversy,  on  a  point 
which  is  opposed  to  the  whole  Presbyterian 
world?  Is  it  prudent  to  introduce  theories 
and  plans  of  ordination  which,  in  conceivable 
cases,  may  render  the  orders  conferred  by 
some  Presbyteries,  questionable,  if  not  spuri- 
ous in  the  view  of  the  majority?  In  the  "old 
paths,"  as  to  this  matter,  there  is  safety.  In 
regard  to  that  which  is  proposed,  no  one  can 
count  the  cost,  or  see  the  end. 


APPENDIX.  153 

NOTE  H. 

THE  POWER  OF  RULING  ELDERS  TO  DO  GOOD. 

It  is  deeply  to  be  lamented  that  more  ade- 
quate views  of  what  an  active  and  devoted 
Ruling  Elder  has  in  his  power,  are  not  fami- 
liar to  the  minds  of  those  who  bear  this  office, 
as  well  as  to  the  mass  of  the  Christian  peo- 
ple. "  The  children  of  this  world  are  wiser 
in  their  generation  than  the  children  of  light." 
Were  the  Ruling  Elders  and  the  private  mem- 
bers of  our  churches,  as  intent  on  turning 
this  important  office  to  the  best  account;  as 
intent  on  promoting  the  spiritual  benefit  of 
those  around  them ;  as  fruitful  of  expedients, 
and  as  watchful  for  opportunities  of  doing 
good,  as  the  avaricious  man  is  to  make 
money,  or  the  vain-glorious  and  ambitious 
man  to  invite  praise,  and  to  court  popularity, 
what  a  different  aspect  would  both  the 
Church  and  world  wear?  The  truth  is,  no 
human  being  lives  an  hour,  either  in  society 
or  in  solitude,  without  enjoying  an  opportu- 
nity, if  he  have  a  heart  for  the  purpose,  either 
of  planning  or  executing  some  efibrt  to  do 
good  to  the  souls  or  bodies  of  men,  or  both. 


154  APPENDIX. 

If  the  strong  moral  impulse  to  make  the  at- 
tempt, and  the  disposition  to  pray  for  the 
Divine  ble.ssing  upon  it,  were  always  present, 
every  hour  might  be  marked  not  only  with 
benevolent  effort,  but  also  with  blessed  re- 
sults. 

The  pious  and  eloquent  Dr.  Chalmers,  in 
his  well  known  work  on  "  The  Christian  and 
Civic  Economy  of  Large  Towns,"  having 
occasion  to  speak  of  the  Ruling  Elders  and 
Deacon's  offices,  and  of  the  strong  objections 
to  their  being  both  united  in  the  same  per- 
son ; — in  reference  to  the  former  office,  makes 
the  following  remarks. 

'^  Let  an  Elder  count  it  his  duty  to  hold  a 
habitual  intercourse  of  kindness  with  the 
people  of  his  district,  and  for  this  purpose, 
devote  but  a  few  hours  in  the  week  to  their 
highest  interest;  out  of  the  fulness  of  a  heart 
animated  with  good  will  to  man,  and,  in  par- 
ticular, with  that  good  will  which  points  to 
the  good  of  their  eternity;  let  him  make  use 
of  every  practical  expedient  for  spreading 
among  them  the  light  and  influence  of  the 
Gospel;  let  it  be  his  constant  aim  to  warn 
the  unruly,  to  comfort  the  afflicted,  to  stimu- 
late the  education  of  children,  to  press  the 


APPENDIX.  155 

duty  of  attending  ordinances,  to  make  use  of 
all  his  persuasion  in  private,  and  of  all  his 
influence  to  promote  such  public  and  paro- 
chial measures  as  may  forward  the  simple 
design  of  making  our  people  good,  and  pious 
and  holy ; — then,  though  he  should  go  forth 
among  them  stript  of  power  and  patronage, 
and  pecuniary  administration; — though  his 
honest  and  Christian  good  will  be  all  that  he 
has  to  recommend  him;  and  the  whole  ar- 
moury of  his  influence  among  the  people  be 
reduced  to  the  simple  element  of  good  will 
and  friendship,  and  personal  labour,  and  un- 
wearied earnestness  in  the  prosecution  of 
their  spiritual  welfare ; — yet,  with  these,  and 
these  alone,  will  any  of  our  Elders  find  a 
welcome  in  every  heart,  and  a  home  in  every 
habitation. 

"  All  the  dispensations  of  Providence,  and 
all  the  great  events  in  the  train  of  human 
history,  are  on  the  side  of  the  Christian  phi- 
lanthropist. He  has  only  to  watch  his  op- 
portunity, and  there  is  not  a  family  so  hard- 
ened in  the  ways  of  impiety,  where  he  may 
not  in  time  establish  himself.  The  stoutest 
hearted  sinner  he  may  have  to  deal  with, 
must,  in  a  few  little  years,  meet  with  some- 


156  APPENDIX. 

thing  to  soften  and  to  bring  him  down.  Death 
may  make  its  inroads  upon  his  household, 
and  disease  may  come,  with  its  symptoms 
of  threatening  import  upon  his  own  heart ; 
and  in  that  bed  of  sickness  which  he  dreads 
to  be  his  last,  may  the  terrors  and  reproaches 
of  conscience  be  preparing  a  welcome  for  the 
Elder  of  his  district ;  and  he  who  was  wont 
to  laugh  the  ministrations  of  his  Christian 
friend  away  from  him,  will  at  length  send 
an  imploring  message,  and  supplicate  his 
prayers.  Such  is  the  omnipotence  of  Chris- 
tian charity.  At  the  very  outset  of  its  enter- 
prise, it  will  find  a  great  and  an  effectual  door 
opened  to  it ;  and  in  the  course  of  months,  its 
own  perseverance  will  work  for  it ;  and  Pro- 
vidence will  work  for  it ;  and  the  mournful 
changes  which  take  place  in  every  family 
will  work  for  it;  and  all  the  frailties  of  mis- 
fortune and  mortality  to  which  our  nature 
is  liable,  will  work  for  it;  and  thus  may  one 
single  individual,  acting  in  the  capacity  of  a 
Christian  friend,  and  ever  on  the  alert,  with 
all  the  aid  of  Christian  counsel,  and  all  the 
offices  of  Christian  sympathy,  in  behalf  of  his 
assigned  population,  be  the  honoured  instru- 
ment of  reviving  another  spirit,  and  setting 


APPENDIX.  157 

up  another  style  of  practice  and  observation 
in  the  midst  of  them.  Thus  may  lie  obtain 
a  secure  hold  of  ascendency  over  the  affec- 
tions of  hundreds,  and  like  unto  a  leaven  for 
good,  in  the  neighbourhood  which  has  been 
entrusted  to  his  care,  may  he,  by  the  blessing 
of  God,  infuse  into  that  mass  of  human  im- 
mortality with  which  he  is  associated,  the 
fermentation  of  such  holy  desires,  and  peni- 
tential feelings,  and  earnest  aspirations,  and 
close  inquiries  after  the  truth,  as  may  at 
length  issue  in  the  solid  result  of  many  being 
called  out  of  darkness  into  light,  of  many 
being  turned  unto  righteousness. 

"  The  Christian  Elder,  who  has  resigned 
the  temporalities  of  his  office,  should  not 
think  that  on  that  account  he  has  little  in  his 
power.  His  presence  has  a  power.  His  ad- 
vice has  a  power.  His  friendship  has  a 
power.  The  moral  energy  of  his  kind  atten- 
tions and  Christian  arguments  has  a  power. 
His  prayers  at  the  bed  of  sickness,  and  at  the 
funeral  of  a  departed  parishioner,  have  a 
power.  The  books  that  he  recommends  to  his 
people,  and  the  minister  that  he  prevails  on 
them  to  hear,  and  the  habit  of  regular  attend- 
ance upon  the  ordinances  to  which  he  intro 


158  APPENDIX. 

duces  them,  have  a  power.  His  suppUca- 
tions  to  God  for  them,  in  secret,  have  a  power. 
Dependence  upon  Him,  and  upon  his  blessing, 
for  the  success  of  his  own  feeble  endeavours, 
has  a  power.  And  when  all  these  are  brought 
to  bear  upon  the  rising  generation ;  when 
the  children  have  learned  both  to  know  and 
to  love  him  ;  when  they  come  to  feel  the  force 
of  his  approbation,  and  on  every  recurring 
visit,  receive  a  fresh  impulse  from  him  to 
diligence  at  school,  and  dutiful  behaviour  out 
of  it ;  when  the  capabilities  of  his  simple  re- 
lationship thus  come  to  be  estimated,  it  is  not 
saying  too  much  to  say,  that  with  such  as 
him  there  lies  the  precious  interest  of  the 
growth  and  transmission  of  Christianity,  in 
the  age  that  is  now  passing  over  us ;  and  that, 
in  respect  to  his  own  selected  neighbourhood, 
he  is  the  depositary  of  the  moral  and  spiritual 
destinies  of  the  future  age."* 

These  remarks  of  the  venerable  and  elo- 
quent Patriarch  of  the  Scottish  Church,  ought 
not  to  be  read  by  any  Ruling  Elder  without 
receiving  a  new  impulse  in  the  great  work  of 
doing  good;  without  feeling  that  every  day  he 

*  Christian  and  Civic  Economj',  &c.,  vol.  i.  291 — 295. 


APPENDIX.  159 

lives,  and  every  house  he  enters,  may  afford 
an  opportunity  of  benefiting  some  soul ;  of 
recommending  rehgion ;  of  admonishing  and 
quickening  some  member  of  the  Church;  or 
enUghtening  and  impressing  the  minds  of 
some  hitherto  careless  or  profane.  One  would 
think  that  a  Christian  man,  occupying  such 
an  important  office,  if  he  had  a  heart  habi- 
tually warmed  with  the  love  of  Christ  and 
of  souls,  would  be  constantly  watching  for 
opportunities  and  means  of  opposing  sin  and 
error,  and  leading  men  to  the  Saviour. 

But  not  only  is  it  in  the  power  of  Elders 
and  Deacons,  in  virtue  of  their  respective 
offices,  to  do  a  greater  amount  of  good  than 
human  arithmetic  can  measure  ;  but  the  fact 
is,  that  private  members  of  the  Church  may 
promote  the  spiritual  interests  of  those  around 
them  to  an  extent  which  is  seldom  realized. 
Pious  laymen  have  been  sometimes  heard  to 
complain,  that  they  were  excluded  from 
many  opportunities  of  doing  good  to  those 
around  them,  by  the  fact  that  their  encroach- 
ing on  the  functions  of  ministers  of  the  Gos- 
pel, would  be  considered  as  disorderly  and 
inadmissible.  But  surely  there  never  was 
a  complaint  more  unreasonable;  or  more  des- 


160  APPENDIX. 

titiite  of  solid  foundation,  than  this.  What 
is  there  to  prevent  any  Cliristian  man,  who 
has  a  heart,  and  adequate  inteUigence  for 
the  purpose,  from  employing  as  many  hours 
every  day  as  he  has  to  spare,  in  visiting  fa- 
milies ;  in  catechizing  and  instructing  the 
young;  in  visiting  the  sick  and  dying;  in 
circulating  Bibles,  Tracts,  and  other  pious 
books ;  in  conversing  with  his  neighbours  on 
the  great  subjects  of  moral  and  religious 
duty  ;  in  promoting  the  cause  of  temperance, 
and  of  the  Sabbath ;  in  striving  to  win  pro- 
fligates, young  and  old,  to  virtue  and  piety  ; 
and,  in  a  word,  in  watching  for  every  oppor- 
tunity of  doing  good  to  the  souls  and  bodies 
of  his  fellow-men  ?  Is  not  every  one  who 
professes  to  be  a  disciple  of  Christ,  whether 
in  office  or  not,  bound,  every  day,  and  wher- 
ever he  may  be,  to  do  all  in  his  power  for 
winning  souls  to  Christ,  and  extending  the 
reign  of  his  grace  ?  What  is  it  that  prevents 
every  professing  Christian  from  being  thus 
active  and  thus  useful?  He  is  surely  not 
straitened  in  his  Master,  or  in  the  nature  of 
his  duty,  but  in  himself.  The  truth  is,  the 
most  enlightened,  devoted  and  gifted  lay- 
man that  ever  lived,  without  invading  the 


APPENDIX.  161 

functions  which  belong  to  the  sacred  office, 
may  find  enough,  every  day,  in  his  own 
neighbourhood,  to  employ  every  hour,  and 
to  put  in  requisition  all  his  gifts  and  graces. 
To  imagine  that  the  contrary  is  the  case,  and 
to  be  ready  to  complain  of  it,  betrays  a  spirit 
like  that  of  the  men  who  prate  about  univer- 
sal benevolence,  while  they  entirely  neglect 
those  calls  to  do  good  in  detail  which  lie  un- 
heeded at  their  door.  Let  those  laymen  who 
imagine  that  they  have  no  scope  for  pious 
and  benevolent  efforts,  read  the  life  of  Harlan 
Page,  and  learn  to  correct  their  mistake. 
They  will  see,  from  the  Memoir  of  that  excel- 
lent man,  how  much  a  private  Christian 
may  do  for  the  benefit  of  his  fellow-men,  and 
for  the  promotion  of  his  Master's  glory.  For 
although  he  became  a  Ruling  Elder  before 
his  death,  and  seems  to  have  been  both  ac- 
tive and  useful  in  this  office,  the  greater  part 
of  his  religious  life  was  passed  without  office 
in  the  Church.  Yet  in  this  situation  he  was 
so  watchful  for  opportunities,  and  so  un- 
wearied in  his  efforts  to  do  good  to  the  souls 
of  those  to  whom  he  could  obtain  access,  that 
he  could  cherish  the  belief,  on  his  death-bed, 
that  he  had  been  instrumental  in  the  hopeful 

14 


162  APPENDIX. 

conversion  of  more  than  a  hundred  souls. 
Would  that  all  ministers  of  the  Gospel  could 
say  as  much !  I  was  never  so  happy  as  to 
see  or  know  that  worthy  man ;  but  I  could 
wish  and  pray  that  his  mantle  might  fall 
upon  thousands  in  the  Eldership  and  out  of 
it.  It  would  be  a  happy  day  for  the  Ameri- 
can Church. 

Nor  ought  even  pious  females  to  consider 
themselves  as  excluded  from  the  great  work 
of  promoting  the  spiritual  welfare  of  those 
around  them.  True,  their  sex  excludes 
them,  not  only  from  the  sacred  desk,  and 
from  the  office  of  public  instruction  in  every 
form,  but  also  from  some  of  the  modes  of 
doing  good  which  are  open  to  private  Chris- 
tians of  the  other  sex.  But  still  a  large  field 
of  useful  activity  lies  before  them,  which 
they  may  not  only  lawfully  enter,  but  which 
it  may  with  truth  be  said,  they  are  peculiarly 
adapted  to  occupy.  In  almost  every  popu- 
lous settlement  in  our  country,  there  are  fa- 
milies in  which  there  are  no  Bibles  5  in  which, 
if  that  precious  book  were  possessed,  there 
are  none  able  to  read  it ;  families  in  which 
there  are  irreligious  wives  and  children;  fa- 
milies in  which  sickness  and  death  invite 


APPENDIX.  163 

that  appropriate  instruction  and  counsel,  and 
that  tender  sympathy  which  are  so  adapted 
to  conciliatej  to  soften,  and  to  impress;  fa- 
miUes  which  are  seldom  or  never  found  in 
the  house  of  God;  families  to  which  the 
gift  of  the  Bible,  the  instructive  volume,  and 
the  pious  tract  might  prove  of  inestimable 
value.  These  families  present  scenes  in 
which  the  benevolence  and  piety  of  intelligent 
females  might  have  appropriate  and  ample 
scope,  to  which  the  delicacy  and  tenderness 
of  the  female  heart  are  peculiarly  adapted, 
and  in  which  the  voice,  the  gentleness,  and 
the  whole  manner  of  female  kindness  are 
fitted  to  make  an  impression  such  as  nothing 
else  in  this  world  is  equally  adapted  to  impart. 
We  have  seen  a  pious  intelligent  female 
enter  a  dwelling  where  ignorance  and  irre- 
ligion  reigned;  where  there  was  no  Bible, 
and  no  ability  to  read  it,  if  it  had  been  there. 
We  have  seen  her,  taking  her  Bible  in  her 
hand,  enter  that  dwelling,  and  gathering 
around  her  such  members  of  the  family  as 
she  found  at  home,  with  a  benevolent  smile 
on  her  countenance,  and  with  the  law  of 
kindness  on  her  lips,  read  to  them  portions 
of  sacred  Scripture,  accompanied  with  such 


164  APPENDIX. 

simple  and  intelligent  remarks  as  circum- 
stances seemed  to  demand.    We  have  seen 

« 

her,  as  she  moved  about  among  her  neigh- 
bours, in  all  the  gentleness  and  attraction  of 
her  sex,  presenting  a  catechism  to  one,  a 
pious  tract  to  another,  a  seasonable  reproof 
to  a  third,  and  uniting  in  prayer  with  a  mother 
and  her  children,  unable  or  unwilling  to  pray 
for  themselves.  We  have  seen  her  by  the 
bedside  of  the  sick  and  dying,  not  only  minis- 
term  g  to  the  physical  wants  of  the  sufferers, 
but  endeavouring  to  insinuate  spiritual  in- 
struction and  consolation  into  their  minds. 
In  short,  we  have  seen  her  in  all  the  inter- 
course of  life,  giving  utterance  to  good  senti- 
ments, instructing  the  ignorant,  feeding  the 
hungry,  clothing  the  naked,  reproving  sin, 
recommending  pious  books,  leading  the  care- 
less to  the  house  of  God ;  and  thus  becoming, 
perhaps,  to  many  individuals,  the  means  of 
eternal  blessedness.  Who  that  has  read  the 
Memoirs  of  Isabella  Graham,  can  doubt  that 
an  enlightened  and  pious  female  has  it  in 
her  power,  humanly  speaking,  to  do  an 
amount  of  good  to  the  Church  and  to  her 
generation  which  no  earthly  mind  can  mea- 
sure? That  illustrious  woman,  for  more  than 


APPENDIX.  165 

thirty  years,  adorned  and  blessed  the  city  of 
New  York,  where  her  bright  and  steady 
Christian  example,  and  her  enlightened,  ac- 
tive and  unwearied  benevolence,  might  really 
be  said  to  form  an  era  in  the  American  an- 
nals of  female  benevolence.  See  the  Me- 
moirs alluded  to  ;  and  also  the  excellent  and 
eloquent  sermon  preached  on  the  occasion  of 
her  death,  in  1814,  by  her  Pastor,  the  Rev. 
John  M.  Mason,  D.  D. 

I  have  only  to  add  here,  what  I  should 
deem  it  a  defect  to  omit,  that  whatever  indi- 
viduals in  any  church,  whether  Elder,  Dea- 
con, or  private  member,  of  either  sex,  may 
engage  in  any  systematic  attempt  to  do  good, 
by  visiting,  catechizing  &c.,  ought,  in  all  cases 
in  which  it  is  practicable,  to  consult  their 
Pastor,  and  ascertain  that  their  plans  do  not 
interfere  with  his.  Every  Pastor  who  is 
faithful  and  active,  is  engaged  in  plans  of 
doing  good,  of  which  all  the  members  of  his 
flock  may  not  be  aware.  Of  course,  as  he 
is,  or  ought  to  be,  the  centre  of  information, 
of  counsel,  and  of  effort  for  promoting  the 
great  interests  of  knowledge,  order  and  piety 
among  his  people;  while  none  ought  to  be 
kept  back  from  pious  and  benevolent  action 


166  APPENDIX. 

by  this  consideration,  yet  all  ought  to  con- 
sult with  him,  and  to  take  care  that  they 
do  nothing  to  thwart  either  his  wishes  or  his 
efforts  in  the  great  work  of  doing  good.  If 
his  wishes  and  eff'orts  are  either  deficient  or 
ill  directed,  let  those  who  so  consider  them, 
endeavour,  with  all  due  respect  and  fidelity, 
to  brina:  about  a  correction  of  the  evil. 


THE    END. 


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